WEEKS BEFORE HE LEFT
by Propertyoftheuchiha
Summary: Why did he leave, really? :SasuxSaku. graphic lemon
1. ISOLATION LEFT TO RUMPLED THOUGHTS

CHAPTER 1: ISOLATION LEFT TO RUMPLED THOUGHTS

Flipping through the channels on T.V., the raven-haired boy sat on his bed, slouched over in his usual brooding position.  
Rain tapped at the windows and the shadows of water droplets danced across his pale cheeks.  
Alone, sitting there with silk sheets swept up over his legs in the darkness, Sasuke felt the familiarity of the shadows settle over him.  
A strange and sad feeling of comfort took him over as he drew his knees close and balanced a plastic ramen cup over one propped up leg.  
The warmth of it brought goose bumps to his skin and he mutely studied the swirl of steam that rose from the container.  
His mind worked a thousand questions.  
Always the same ones that never brought any answers.

Being the class rookie, he had topped everyone in everything that had involved the ninja academy.  
He excelled tremendously at ninjutsu and taijutsu.  
True, he did not specialize in any one particular ninja technique, but what he lacked in specificity, he made up for in diversity.  
When Sasuke combined his attacks using all ways of the leaf shinobi, he could beat almost anyone.  
Each written examination he took, returned with his expected letter grade, an A. All the teachers called on him when no one else could spar with their questions, because they all knew that he had the correct answers. He was fairly well-versed and articulate in the classroom, choosing the most suitable words coupled with the most brilliant ideas.  
He never stuttered or hesitated, never wasted his breath on useless comments or beating around the bush.  
He was direct, precise, professional and almost always right. In other words, his oral exams and recitation fared just as well as anything else.

Sparring practice and hands-on training was no different.  
Aside from the famous Sharingan, which Sasuke did not yet discover during his days at the academy, the Uchiha Clan was also known for their accurate throwing skills.  
He can spot five different target boards in five different locations within a 15 meter radius at one glance, throw five kunais and surely maim the five direct bulls-eyes.  
The only other student who possessed this talent for accuracy was a girl named Ten-Ten, who was one year level higher than Sasuke.

He knew he was popular with the girls, because they never really bothered to hide the fact. They were constantly surrounding him. Offering him food, flowers, cards, books, weapons and various other things he'd found stuffed into his locker that he'd rather not think about.

Boys hated him for it. He, on the other hand couldn't care less.

If other people had time to waste on shallow riffs and ogling, he didn't, because really there was only one thing on his mind… only one thing that got him out of bed every single day for the past 6 years of his damned orphan life.  
The one thing that could bring back the life he knew before his pain, and could take away the numbness that had settled into whatever was left of his heart.  
And if he worked hard enough, if he did, if he excelled greater than any ninja that crossed his path, he could finally have it.

Yes, revenge.

For his own sake, and for the sake of his clan.

His jaws clenched and in frustration, he sighed and turned his head to look out at the balcony stretching across the second floor, outside he could see the very little of Konoha that was not enveloped in the thick fog and mist that came with nightfall in the leaf village. Over the distance, he could see the twin orb-like glows coming from the paper lanterns of Ichiraku, Naruto's favorite ramen place.

Occasionally, bouts of laughter floated up from the nearby bar, dogs barked somewhere in the distance, and the solid tenor voice of the wooden-mask vendor called out to buyers from the alley next to Sasuke's house.

Always, there were the crickets.

Sasuke nestled back against the goose-feather pillows behind him, before digging the chopsticks absent-mindedly into the ramen container.

He remembered one of the missions he'd taken with the rest of team 7 and its mentor, Kakashi, the other week.

After a whole day spent assisting a horse-cart driver with his duties delivering fruits and vegetables back and forth across two towns, he, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were walking back towards the direction of the forests bordering Konoha, when they came across a cool, grassy open field. The wind swept across the tall stalks, bringing with it the smell of sickly-sweet mountain flora and pine tree sap.

Without a second thought, the only girl on the team, the pink-haired ninja Sakura let out a long sigh and with all grace forgotten, plopped down over the grass, her clear, green eyes looking dull, her face, arms and the exposed parts of her legs, battered from all the pushing and pulling on the wooden cart.

"Yatta!" Beside her, a high, scratchy voice let out a whoop. "Rest. Finally!" Naruto, bubbly, energetic and very irritating Naruto - clad in bright orange jumped down next to her. With a heavy thump, his body was spread out flat over the ground and his gaze was looking ahead.  
"Oh..?" his blue eyes widened as he scanned the sky above him.  
"There are many stars out tonight."

Sasuke, as usual, didn't feel the need to say anything. He made his way towards a spot further away from the noisy blonde and the clingy girl before settling down into the grass.

"Mm. Yes." their gray-haired teacher murmured as he tilted his one visible eye at the skies. He'd already quietly made himself comfortable behind the three genins. His body reclined lazily against one hand while the other scratched at the back of his head.

"Now, this isn't so bad is it?" Kakashi's eye crinkled charmingly, as he looked at his students.

Even though Sasuke and the others had never seen how the jounin mouth concealed underneath the mask looked, they could tell he was smiling. 

Together, the Konoha ninjas looked up into the black dome above them. They could see the vast stretch of darkness, and the shower of tiny, bright stars amidst the roll of feathery clouds.  
No one said anything.  
It was a miracle even Naruto was quiet this time.

_Maybe,_ Sasuke thought, _the blockhead has finally fallen asleep._

With his eyes partially closed, Sasuke did what he rarely ever thought of doing with other people around.

He dropped his guard.

The tightness in his shoulders ceased and his legs stretched out against the soft, mossy ground. He even allowed his head to tilt a little bit to the left as he felt the breeze fanning at his cheek. How comforting this all was. If naivety was second nature to him, he would probably be smiling.

The boy listened for the soothing sound of silence. But around him the hills were all but quiet. It was the familiarity of one particular sound that drew Sasuke's attention.

And before he could think, emotions he'd long wanted to forget, thoughts buried shallow, had seized him. Like a sudden gush, the feeling consumed him and his head dropped to stare at the blades of grass in front of him. The soft, chirping of the crickets all around the hill reminded him a little bit of that life he knew back when he had his family.

When he closed his eyes, he once again saw the walls around the Uchiha compound, so clearly etched in his mind, could imagine his grandmother feeding twigs into the blazing fire underneath the clay pots at the far end of the garden, hear the laughter of his father after his regular round of sake and the clatter of the dishes as his mother leaned over the kitchen sink. Always there were crickets, sounding just as they did on this hill, the soft repetitive chirping carrying on throughout the night.

A mixture of melancholic joy and painful sadness washed over him, and almost as if he wanted to deflect the memories, Sasuke abruptly turned over to one side and blinked at the direction of the trees. Beyond it he could see nothing but darkness.

_Some things never change, but important things almost always do._ A cold, knowing voice quietly said.

His heart hardened once more with the familiarity of his conclusion and without another word, he forced his sore, shaking legs to stand.

The wind nipped at his spiky raven hair, as his eyes peered sullenly down at his three companions. "Kakashi, we should move before it gets late."

Almost by reflex, the girl beside Naruto stood up. "Yeah, sensei. Sasuke-kun is right. And my parents are gonna stay up waiting for me to return." Sakura always agreed with him. If he had spoken with conviction that the Fifth Hokage's pig, Ton-Ton, could fly… she wouldn't have hesitated to back him up.

He almost smirked at the thought.

"Keh!" it was Naruto's impish voice, "I'm much too comfortable to move now."  
Turning to the direction of the raven-haired boy, he narrowed his blue eyes into tiny slits and muttered, "You sure know how to ruin anyone's mood, Sasuke. Ouch!"

The Uchiha didn't even need to look to know Sakura's fist had landed a painful blow to the tactless boy ninja's head. In Sasuke's mind, there was only the barest hint of recognition that a girl had once again defended him. It's not that Sasuke wasn't thankful. But the fact that he didn't particularly care about useless taunts aimed at him, killed most of his gratitude.

Frankly, he did not feel the need to thank her and was also too proud to. What would he have to put up with if the poor girl took it as a sign of encouragement that he appreciated her gesture? It would be troublesome and annoying. Above anything else, Sasuke despised people who delayed him or burdened him. He had no mercy or compassion for hindrances like her. Only after all these thoughts came, did a slight, barely noticeable pang of guilt gnaw at him.  
Impatiently he brushed it off and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. Despite his aching limbs, he maneuvered smoothly around the jagged rocks around the top of the hill, towards the direction they had been taking before they rested.  
Just before his head completely turned towards the dark pathway, his eyes met with Kakashi's. The wizened-looking jounin had been the one to train him in the desert just before the chuunin exams. He had been the one to teach Sasuke his most destructive biological weapon, the Chidori.   
And though they both kept their distance because of painful memories from the past, Sasuke couldn't help giving him an extra glance every now and then, just to see if he approved of things or not.  
Kakashi was not at all like his dead father, but for some reason, Sasuke could easily see him as one. He was a mentor, a loyal friend and as close a father-figure as anyone could get.  
Of course, Sasuke would never admit even to himself, that he thought of his teacher that way.  
In his heart, he wanted only to depend on himself, and on nobody else. He knew all too well about the depths of pain.

If there was one thing he would never forget, it was the fact that no one could ever safely place their trust on those dearest to them, because in the end, they were the same ones capable of doing the most unspeakable things.

Everyone else stood. Naruto, who was Sakura's exact opposite when it came to dealing with him, was stubbornly the last to get up and leave the field.  
Sasuke observed the non-existent path through the forest in front of him.  
For a moment he stood, considering the options. Walk through the gnarled bushes or dive through the thickly-branched trees?

Before he could decide, a white blur that shot up from the right told him Kakashi thought the best way was up. He instinctively gathered some chakra under the soles of his feet and followed his mentors lead.

They jumped and dodged the branches, propelling themselves towards the direction of Konoha with Kakashi constantly shooting glances up at the stars, utilizing astrological position to navigate the team westward.

They had arrived forty minutes later, bruised and battered, each one short of breath, but satisfied.

Sasuke had been glad he could just walk the rest of the way home. His muscles had stiffened and if he didn't have so much discipline, he would probably drop to the ground somewhere along the way.

He turned towards the street that led to his two-story apartment when a small voice behind him called out.

"Sasuke-kun…" 

He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, stopping a few meters away but not bothering to glance back at Sakura.

Her light footsteps became louder as she caught up with him.

"What is it, Sakura?" he said, finally giving her a glance.

The girl had a healthy blush that tinged the tops of her cheeks, and she appeared almost cute as she looked at him with her big, green eyes. 

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a mission with me and Lee tomorrow. It's just at the edge of the forest. Two Konoha Chuunins discovered a few complex animal traps hidden in there and the fifth asked us to clear it up. She allowed us to bring an extra genin." 

He barely gave it a thought even as he listened tolerantly. In fact, after her first sentence, he'd already decided.

"No, Sakura."

The crest-fallen look on her face almost moved him to change his mind, but instead he turned around. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he began to walk away.  
But before he had taken two steps, he felt a hand on his right shoulder.

Truly, this was annoying.  
Just when he turned his head to tell her exactly what he was thinking, Sakura wrapped her fingers around the crook of his arm, and anything he might have said to her was suddenly forgotten.

Contact was a delicious thing.

Sasuke had seldom been touched, even when his mother was still alive.   
Everyday of his life, he secretly longed for a pat, a ruffle of his hair, a hug. Any kind of contact at all would have sufficed. But his dead parents never gave him that kind of love and affection. Only one member of his family ever did. Except now, that person, his brother, was also as good as dead to him.

And now, there was this.

His defensive self, wanted to tear his arm away from her.  
Because he knew that the moment her hand pulled away from him, he would be left with pain.  
And he was so very tired of pain. He was tired of feeling lonely, of people loving him and then leaving him.  
But even as his whole body stiffened, waiting for the inevitable, Sakura did not let go.

"Sasuke-kun…" her voice was so soft, so demure… so much so he felt like feathers were drifting down at his sides for no apparent reason.

His eyes studied her, and vaguely he grew aware of the awkwardness of the moment.

She was speaking.

"...I really wish I knew what you were thinking sometimes. No one can ever figure you out."

She wanted to know about him.

_Him.  
His life.  
His past, his feelings, his vulnerability.  
No._

Before he knew it, he had snatched his arm back with an expression that was almost contemptuous. His sleek eyebrows snapped together as he tilted his chin at her.

The look on her face, he would never forget. The light from the moon and stars made her pale skin luminous and her eyes deeper than they really were. Sasuke looked at her. Really looked, and saw something bright, perhaps a star reflecting in her eye. The stark light quivered for a moment, and suddenly with a blink, he realized that two tears had snaked down her cheeks. He pulled away from her.

"It hurts me, more than it does you." She murmured and her eyes spoke to him of all the sadness he recognized in himself.

But even then he couldn't speak back,  
because he never did.

Just as always, he gathered anything that he had let escape and stuffed it all inside him again.  
No mess, no confusion.  
Just the usual raging storm in his gut.

He closed his eyes, looked away and snorted.  
"Hnh."  
Why he emitted that particular sound, he did not know. But it felt natural.  
_And her being able to see through you isn't,_ something told him.

"Go home, Sakura." He muttered, barely noticing how sharp his tone seemed to sound to her.  
Her departing footfalls were swift, and he knew she was running away.  
Running from him.  
He grit his teeth and cursed under his breath, and suddenly longed for a steaming, hot bath and his soft king-sized bed.

He dipped his head against the shove of the wind and dragged his weary body towards the only place he allowed himself to face his shortcomings and his pent-up weakness.


	2. THE FIRST ENCOUNTER

CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST ENCOUNTER

Sasuke sat up and blinked into the darkness. Something had awakened him. Was it remnants of another one of his occasional bad dreams? Sitting upright, he waited for his eyes to adjust, steadily focusing his gaze on pale, gray shadows stretched out over the corners of his wall. His half-eaten ramen sat forgotten on the bedside table to his right.  
He was about to pull the blankets away and dispose of the plastic cup when he heard it.   
_Thump._

Before he'd even drawn a breath, his fingers were already pressed together, holding the two newly-sharpened shurikens he'd snatched up from his holster.  
_Thump. Thump._  
His mouth pressed into a thin line as he realized it was only the door. Someone was apparently knocking. Abruptly, his eyes jerked to the digital clock on his bedside table. The luminous numbers read 2:45. Knocking at 3 in the morning, how odd.  
His eyes narrowed and he turned his head towards the direction of the door.  
Soundlessly, his feet hit the floor and he padded over to the entrance hall, wishing for the umpteenth time that he had a peep-hole.  
A high clinking sound made him stop dead in his tracks.  
His blood ran cold and the hair at the back of his neck bristled as he recalled what Kakashi had told him. That a quiet tinkle of chimes sometimes signaled the appearance of a black and red Akatsuki robe.  
His brother. Itachi.

The acceleration of his heart was incredible, with all his senses heightened, he was wide awake. His chest was seconds from bursting. He could feel the steady thrum of hatred, and the rush of utilized chakra pulsing and aching, gathering behind his temples. It was the Sharingan, begging to be opened. He wanted to run away, to hide, but so vividly he imagined plunging one thousand shrieking birds deep into his brother's gut, till it pierced all the way through to his back.  
He savored the thought of seeing the blinding bluish-white of his Chidori disappearing into flesh so soft and yet so solid at the same time.  
The thought was exhilarating and the feeling was a pendulum swing that made him want to throw up all over his floor and smash the door down at the same time.

Straining to hear through the cracks in the wooden planks, Sasuke held his breath and listened. No sounds greeted him.  
And Sasuke's jaw unclenched as the muscles of his body relaxed considerably.

Angry at himself, and frustrated with the absurd thoughts of encountering his brother, knocking on his door at this hour, he thrust his hand forward and twisted the doorknob, shoving the door open rather violently. He heard a surprised cry and then the sound of weight landing over wood.

One foot came before the other, Sasuke side-stepped the door and turned with a fixed stare to whoever it was he had knocked down.

Red.   
That was the first thing he saw.  
And smooth, firm calves.

…

Pink hair.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice came out hoarse, partially from relief and from just having spoken his first word out of bed. He rubbed at his aching temples, willing the swell of chakra to retreat as he continued to stare down at the groaning heap spread out over the ground.

"Nnn, Sasuke-kuuun."

Something about that tone of voice was off and Sasuke briefly wondered if it was someone else pulling off a bunshin-jutsu, trying to stump him.

His eyes narrowed and his mind worked rapidly to make sense of the situation.

Her head seemed to bob from left to right, and her shoulders slumped even as she tried to straighten up. For a while, her face was hidden behind fine, silken strawberry strands. And then she slowly raised her head, eyes opening and closing as if in slow motion.  
He raised his own eyebrows in response and blinked back at her.

Her face was completely flushed even in the darkness of the hallway, and as Sasuke watched her, she let out a long, light giggle that sounded partially embarrassed and wholly mischievous. This was definitely odd.

And then it hit him.

"You're drunk." Sasuke said flatly, and his mouth twisted in a slight mock of a smirk as he said the last word.

"I was lonely… and Daddy was celebrating his birthday. He wouldn't notice if one bottle went missing." she said, in what he assumed would have been an indignant tone if it hadn't come out slurred and lazy.

"Why are you here?" he asked impatiently, his eyes narrowed in the darkness, appearing almost hostile as his slim eyebrows drew together.

The glint of a sake bottle set against the post in front of his door caught his eye and he realized that it probably been the cause of what he had thought was the tinkle of a chime.

She seemed not to hear him, her face slumped forward and he suppressed the urge to bend his head at an angle where he could see her clearly. 

It was not a very common sight, and Sasuke wondered briefly if she would vomit all over the hallway and who would have to clean it.

Suddenly, her head jerked up and she slowly stumbled to her feet. Her whole body tilted sideways, and she lost her balance, ramming one hip hard into the railing.

Despite his foul mood at having gotten out of bed for this, he almost laughed at her absurdity.  
She, who was usually so composed and collected in front of him. Batting her eyelashes and calling him by the honorific, "Sasuke-kun," in what she always assumed was an adorable tone of voice.

In truth, it annoyed the hell out of him.

He studied her wordlessly, still from a few feet away, discovering a delicious kind of pleasure in seeing her make a fool of herself. He watched her, as she cringed, rubbing blindly at the soreness at her side.  
Her hand brushed against throbbing pain and she groaned.

The sound caused something in his expression to flicker.  
Briefly, his stomach clenched, and his eyes unknowingly wandered towards the long expanse of her right leg as it stretched out from the slit on the side of her dress.

It's not like he had never noticed it.

After all he was still a boy.  
She always had a pleasingly slender frame, and months of training after and in between the three ninja exams had sculpted it into the beautiful lean body that was before him now.

Uncontrollably, his eyes swept over the fine muscle that bulked where her thigh connected to her lower leg.  
And again, he felt something spike through him.  
That unfamiliar jerk, that spiraling sensation that jabbed at his stomach.  
It made him want to close his eyes and shudder.  
For a moment, he felt weak like he was sinking. But the sensation left immediately when he saw she was balancing quite well on her two feet now. Albeit, with a dangerous sway every now and then, but upright nonetheless.

"Sasuke kuun," she began, her lips forming a lazy and somehow sweetly tragic smile.  
She dipped towards him, her arm outstretched.  
He remained rooted on his spot and the fingers that stretched towards him, dropped limply to her side.

"Now you've opened your door. I'm not gonna leave you. You can't make me." Her voice was light, almost sounding helpless despite her stubborn words.

He studied her. Not bothering to say anything, assuming she was too far gone to even respond sensibly.

Strands of hair clung to her moist forehead, as she turned away from him and steadied both her arms against the railing.  
Her head was still bent when he heard the series of quiet, muffled sounds jerk at her shoulders. And then her heavy-lidded eyes lifted, steadying on his.

Sasuke saw that her lower eyelashes were glistening and that she was again, crying.

He opened his mouth to order her to leave then decided to close it, at the same time turning his face away from her.

"Do you really think I don't understand about solitude, Sasuke-kun?" 

The Uchiha met her eyes, so tinged in a sadness that he recognized almost mirrored his own, whenever he left himself unguarded.

"I know what it is like, even if you don't believe me."

Her voice was quiet, yet sounded certain to the extent that Sasuke knew she was being genuine.

And for the first time, he did not know what to say.  
This was the real Sakura, the uninhibited version of the girl who had grown up being a constant encounter in his world.

To see her, so openly honest and vulnerable, swiping at her eyes with long, delicate fingers, something struck him with as much finality as surprise.  
He wanted to spare her. Spare her from the same pain he'd suffered all these years. Take her broken body and wrap her in a warm blanket. Tell her he didn't mind company and didn't mind being close to someone who reminded him of everything he wished to hide about himself.

He considered this, and his guarded self seemed to roar and push the idea away.

But, as she started to sink to the floor, he felt his legs move forward. 

His arms reached out, and he slid underneath her just as her pink head collided with painful impact against his right shoulder.

He ignored the slight throbbing of his collar and with a grunt, pushed himself and her off of the floor.

Surprisingly, she was lighter than she looked.

Seconds passed, when Sasuke continued to stand outside his door. The wind rustled the trees and he felt a chill brush up his spine. Her hair tickled his chin, and as he glanced down, he realized that she was awake. Her green eyes looked disoriented, but she had a trance-like smile on her face as she gazed at him. In the glow of the moon, she reminded Sasuke of what Tsunade might have looked like several years ago. "Sasuke… kun…" she whispered, and the green glow of her eyes moved across his face.

Instantly, his defenses clicked back into place and he almost dropped her.

But Sasuke was a rational thinker, and he considered the possibility of her sporting more painful bruises, or worse a sprained ankle or wrist, so he shot her a look of irritation instead, and snarled in a low voice, "You better not throw up all over my floor, usuratonkachi."

Her response to this was throwing her arms around his neck and snuggling into the soft fabric of his blue shirt.

He enjoyed the sensation, even as his head fought against it.

Setting her down on the couch required him to sit.  
With steady arms he shrugged her weight off and let her head press against the backrest. She slid forward, her half-opened eyes wanting to catch the light of the moon against his lowered face. Beside her Sasuke only stared back, his thick eyelashes framing the solid shine of his onyx eyes. After a moment he let out a frustrated sigh and straightened, his face tempered with a slight air of impatience. "Sakura."  
And then he started to tell her that as soon as she was alright, she would have to get up and get out.

But before he could form the words, her face had come forward, the tips of her lips brushing lightly against his slightly-parted mouth.

With a startled jerk, Sasuke pulled away from her, his wide eyes a mix of irrepressible shock and defiance. "Sakura!"

He couldn't move away as her arms wound around him and she clung to his neck relentlessly in a fierce hug.

"Sasuke-kun, don't move away… Please don't."

He sat against her, rigid, and confused, every molecule of his body fighting a battle he was losing.  
He remembered somewhere in the back of his mind, the first time he had felt another pair of lips on his own.

Inwardly he cringed as he remembered Naruto's nose bumping painfully against his, and the sudden reflex he had to punch a hole into the blonde boy's socket.  
This would have to be his second time then. And how different it had felt.  
His skin now tingled with a foreign sensation he could not place, could not recognize, and a rolling warmth crept up to his neck, spreading out over his cheeks.  
If Sasuke knew what a blush felt like, he supposed this would be it.

"…I know you don't like me. I know. But I love you. I always have. Please, I want to know what it feels like to hold you."  
Her voice washed over him, and every nerve welcomed it like the sensation of hot water after long hours of training.  
Perhaps it was the confession. So outright and honest it amused him and shocked him at the same time.  
Perhaps it was in how he found so much of what he wished he had, in her. The openness, the honesty, the affection.  
His obsidian eyes softened, and his shoulders slumped against her.

_What if…_

The other person inside him, the one that struggled to push this girl as far away from him as possible, now seemed miles away.  
The darkness helped, fed him illusions that convinced him this was okay. It was alright to be vulnerable. It was normal to get hurt. It was natural to love.

_What if…_

Her hair smelled faintly of blooming flora, and a distant memory came to him. A time when he had crossed the field of flowers sometime during spring on the way to the academy and he had seen her,  
Sakura, laughing, her eyes sparkling in the sun as Ino tucked a flower into her hair.  
He'd only given them an indifferent glance, and moved on. But now, his mind's eye saw the vast shower of yellow and pink that swayed with the wind. Petals floated past his face, and the smell, much like her hair now, was everywhere in the air around him.

_What if he…_

Indignant reasoning started to erupt inside him, but something else brushed it aside. Instead, he pressed his cheek against her hair, wanting the smell to dominate him completely. Her shoulders jerked against him and he vaguely felt wetness against the crook of his neck.  
"Stop crying." He meant it as a firm order, but his voice came out low, weak.  
It's okay to be weak, the darkness seemed to say.  
His arms lifted, seemingly of their own accord, and he felt the tips of his fingers brush against her back.  
Just like that, her body went still and a quiet calm seemed to radiate from her, reaching into him.   
What was this dull ache in his chest? He found it suddenly difficult to draw his breath.  
He felt her move against him and suddenly he could not breathe at all.  
The little bit of light that was in the room, reflected the slight green of her irises. And then the color was gone as she closed her eyes and kissed him again.

He couldn't.

His mind was frantic as he urged himself to pull away, but his body did not listen. His heart refused to listen.  
The softness of her mouth was almost painful, and whatever form of reasoning that ever occurred to him at that moment suddenly didn't matter. Slowly he responded, hating himself and then dismissing the thought just as quickly.  
Pain is welcome. This kind of pain is okay.  
His eyes closed and then he felt her nose bump lightly into his when she tilted her chin to nip shyly at his upper lip.  
It was an awkward kind of motion that generated a very genuine reaction.  
He emitted a sound deep in his throat that only she could have been able to draw from him.  
And as he gave in compliantly something else started to unravel inside him.  
Another sensation that was not panic, but was closer to the sheer force of needing something.  
Anything.  
And what was it?

His body raged, almost demanded. And his heart hammered shamelessly against his chest.

With each movement of her mouth, he was falling harder and faster.   
Struggling with himself to no avail, he recognized the resistance in his mind weathering away, until he gave in, tuning out the protesting voice that told him this was so very wrong.

His hands were at the sides of her neck now. And his mouth moved with a strong need he didn't bother or want to repress, but somehow he still couldn't find the fulfillment.  
And it frustrated him.

"Sakura," he groaned almost longingly against her teeth. The initial shock of her kissing him now completely forgotten.

And he would have taken a breath if her fingers hadn't pulled at his collar, pulled his face forward as if it pained her that even an inch of his skin wasn't touching hers.

His body was getting so much warmer and Sasuke felt a slight tremor somewhere in his stomach.

Like a bout of nausea.

And then he realized it was just the emptiness of not getting exactly what he wanted.

Her arms tangled with his, and every brush of a new part of her skin, caused the sensations that racked him to escalade, higher and higher.

Almost roughly, his fingers tugged at her dress.

To what purpose, he didn't know anymore.  
Rationalizing at this moment wasn't even an option.  
This was all so startlingly new to him.

The smell of her was pushing him to his limit.  
Soon he was going to break, and god knows what he'd start doing to her after that.

_No, no, no. This wasn't right. This wasn't him._

It took every ounce of his remaining will power to grip her shoulders and pull her away from him.

Too quickly, he felt the separation cut into him as sharp as any pain.  
The warmth of her skin, her mouth, was gone.

Her breath tumbled out uneven, ragged. And he realized that his was no different.

A moment passed that they merely looked at each other in the darkness.  
Gradually, she stopped swallowing breaths through her mouth. And she seemed more alert now than she'd been all night. The lack of light barely repressed the look of horror that dominated her features. Her eyes widened slightly before she shut her eyes, ashamed, looking away.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry…"

He said nothing. He didn't need to say anything. After those few seconds of thinking, he knew what it was he wanted so badly.

The ache between his legs told him too well.

Raven-hair fell across his face as Sasuke looked somewhere to her left, the frantic beat of his heart slowing to a notch above steady thumping. His old person was slowly crawling back into his mind, how he despised that fact.

Beside him, he saw her shift. And briefly there was comforting warmth that fell against the side of his face, and then just as suddenly it was gone. She'd given him a kiss to the cheek.  
A kiss of gratitude, perhaps. And he hated her for it.  
She had nothing to thank him for. He'd desired the contact just as much as she did.

His black eyes flickered over her features and his gaze finally settled squarely across the bridge of her collarbone.

"Leave." He heard himself utter.  
It was like a hard slap to the face and Sakura turned her head as if she received one.  
"Sasuke-kun…"

With one scalding look, he sent her recoiling.

He was angry, furious with himself for losing control so easily, and he knew he was taking it out on her.  
But Sasuke was always a selfish person and he didn't care.

He could not possibly know how to love, now that he had convinced himself all his life to hate.  
Maybe, he was even incapable of loving anyone back.

_Cold. Even without this goddamn seal._

"Leave, Sakura."  
Her hand reached out for his fingers and he pushed it away, clenching his teeth and narrowing his eyes at her. The twin orbs that shone like black marbles were luminous as he shook offending strands of raven hair away from his face and moved to stand up.  
He looked down at her then for what seemed like an eternity before silently turning his back.  
Slowly, he made his way, barefoot, towards the door.  
But before he could reach out to the doorknob, she had snatched it open and dashed out of his apartment.   
Still she didn't do it quickly enough, and he heard her trying valiantly to suppress a small sob as she brushed past him.

One last whiff of her fragrant hair, as fleeting as the recognition that for ten minutes of his life, he had experienced a different kind of happiness, in the form of an annoying, weeping girl in a drunken stupor.

He stood near the door for what seemed like hours, trying to deal with this new kind of hurt that was eating him from inside.  
His mind was too exhausted and muddled to even deal with the complicated emotion.

And after a few moments, his arm moved up to switch the lights on. Light flooded every corner of the room and he expelled a sound that was something between a sigh and a groan  
He was so tired. And now, he welcomed the fact that he did not have any assigned missions for the day.

He didn't want to spare himself from training though so he decided to push through with it, but to cut down to just three hours for the day.

Making a mental note, he pushed his thumb into the doorknob lock, heard the click and made his way back to his bed.

A few hours later, even as he caught the first rays of the sun from the balcony, he realized the futility of trying to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see the darkness and feel the warmth. Reach out mentally and catch at escaping strands of soft, pink hair.

His forehead furrowed, and he buried his nose into the black silken pillow nearest to him.  
One eye peered out from behind his jet-black hair.

_What was happening to him?_


	3. REKINDLED

CHAPTER 3: REKINDLED

It occurred to Sasuke, as he stepped out of his house a few hours, and two 5-minute naps later that he had not bothered to walk her home.   
The street in front of him was quiet, save for a fruit vendor on one side and a tool- sharpener on the other.  
As usual, Sasuke had nothing with him but the holster strapped firmly to his right leg and the various small weapons inside.  
As he walked, his mind was working out a typical training session plan.  
He would have to start with target and range practice, and then after thirty-five direct bulls-eyes he would start on chakra control.  
Sasuke briefly thought about meditation, but decided it was only a waste of time.

He considered the most suitable training areas in the forest. Near the stream would be great, only there was a chance he would bump into his former classmate at the academy, Hinata. Lately, she'd taken her training out of the Hyuuga mansion and into the woods. He'd overheard her speaking in her usual soft, shy voice to her older cousin, Neji, about harnessing water as a visible medium to direct her chakra aim.  
He most definitely didn't want to risk getting soaked.  
In fact, he didn't want to even see anyone today.

_The clearing next to it would be perfect,_ he decided and then started off for the parchments and paint store at the corner to pick up some new scrolls, ink and a Chinese brush.

He saw his former sensei, Iruka just as he entered the store. The chuunin was hanging around with an older shinobi who had a bandana around his head and white gauze wound repeatedly around his neck. The hidden leaf forehead protector was tied firmly to his upper right arm.

"Eh? Sasuke." Iruka turned away from his companion and gave the 14 year old an open smile, the flat horizontal scar that stretched out over the bridge of his nose twitched as the corners of his mouth pulled up.

Sasuke gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and then proceeded to walk towards the back room where the small scrolls were stacked.

"He wears the Uchiha logo on his back…Is that him?" the voice spoke from beside Iruka.

Apparently, this man did not care about ethics, speaking about Sasuke when he was clearly within earshot.

"Yes, Uchiha Sasuke. He was one my best students actually." Sasuke heard Iruka's lighthearted tone.

The other person did not speak for a moment, and Sasuke started to rummage through the pile of scrolls. At a skim of his fingers, his mind sorted out the type of paper and what he was looking for.

"I knew his brother, once. I was there when he first put on his ANBU mask." The same voice was speaking again now, with a tinge of fondness in his tone.

Sasuke almost dropped the twin scrolls he had with him, one from his mouth and the other from his right hand.  
Impatiently, he shoved them into his pocket.

He usually wasn't the type to meddle, but this was a matter that entirely concerned his past. His ears strained to hear the conversation.

Iruka made a muffled sound Sasuke could not make out, and the man proceeded to talk.

"It was funny, watching a 13 year old giving out instructions to 23 year olds."

A laugh from the man caused Sasuke to narrow his eyes.

"Grown men, ten years his senior, mock-sparring with him and having their asses kicked in less than 5 minutes. It was amusing and terrifying Iruka, because the man never was the type to take it easy on others."

A pause at which Sasuke heard nothing from his former teacher. He assumed the young dolphin-like

chuunin had only given a nod of some sort.  
The man continued now, his voice laced with melancholy and perhaps, sorrow.

"Ah, ANBU commander. Of course, I secretly wanted to be like him. Everyone did. He was the best of the best after all. Everything that could have embodied that tragedy of a clan."

Without even knowing it, Sasuke's fist had started to crush the brush he held in his hand. Somewhere, far away he heard the bamboo starting to snap. His jaws ached from the way his teeth were clamped together so tightly and he could feel the familiar rage, accompanied by heightened sensations creeping up to his temples. A scroll from the shelf in the corner fell and Sasuke felt his eyes shift to it, capturing its movement even before it hit the ground.  
Efficiently detecting rapid motion was one of the Sharingan's qualities, and he knew that his black irises now appeared to others, stained in a deep, menacing red.

Even now, he had not escaped his brother's shadow. All his life, he had lived trying to outdo him. His father never saw him, even when he came home with a report card marked with straight A's, even when he topped the class in everything. As soon as Itachi entered the room, he was just another table or vase in the background of his father's world. Everything was always about his brother.  
It stung, deep inside it still did.  
But his parents were dead, Itachi had killed everyone and spared him.  
Leaving him to deal with the immense guilt and remorse of the sudden disposal of everyone who was ever dear to him.  
Soon though, Sasuke would outdo him.

"Sshh." Sasuke heard Iruka calmly silence his friend.  
The man gave a resigned grunt and sensing the end to that, the former class rookie forced himself to taper down the rage inside him, feeling the familiar retreat of energy that signaled the beginnings of a slight headache.  
He ignored them and strode to the counter.

The day flew by as he trained harder with each passing minute. The anger inside fed him power and by the end of three hours, he had to struggle pulling out the kunais that had been deeply embedded into the tree trunks, wincing slightly because of the two fingers on his left hand that had small, barely visible cuts.

As always, he had been excellent at walking above, below and around every single branch of the high oak tree near the edge of the clearing. This time he had even taken the time to fantasize about different ways of killing his brother while focusing his chakra under the soles of his feet. He forgot how long he was hanging there, standing upside down from a particularly thick branch.

He remembered his own surprise and Naruto's stupefied expression as they discovered Sakura had learned chakra control in the first ten minutes after Kakashi had taught it to them. They had not been able to even manage one-fourth of the tree trunk when she had already grazed the highest branch.

But, Sasuke knew it got easier with each try, even if it was exhausting.

He gathered his things, jotted down a few steps to a new tai-jutsu combination he was working on, rolled up the scroll and tucked it into his white shorts.

He walked out of the clearing.

Right now, the rest of his body was just protesting for a midday snack.

He took the side streets that led to his home, the fewer familiar faces he encountered, the better, he figured.  
He avoided the flower shop where he was sure Ino would be, the ramen place where he knew Naruto was enjoying his favorite miso ramen, the bookstore where Kakashi bought those cheap, offensive romance novels, and the restaurant where he was sure Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba and the rest of his old classmates would be hanging out.

A part of him knew that he was being pathetic. But the loneliness only felt normal, and in his own distorted world, safe.

He turned the corner towards his apartment and thought about buying an assortment of fruits from the vendor when his heart suddenly plunged all the way to his stomach.

Just beside the stairwell that led to his house, stood the last person he wanted to see. Or at least that was what his mind vainly tried to tell him.

The sun reflected over the tops of her translucent, strawberry hair, as she looked down at her sandals. Obviously she was waiting for him.

In one moment, everything that happened last night came crashing down over his head.  
The stubbornness in him that he had only lately discovered forced his legs forward, even if a part of him wanted to be anywhere else but near her again.

He realized at the last moment that Sakura terrified him.

All he had been able to think about was that kiss in the dark and how he had loved every moment of it.  
More. His body longed for more.   
But outside, he was a perfect mask of indifference as he walked towards her.  
She raised her head and her eyes softened with a mix of various emotions Sasuke could not place. He stopped in front of her, in his usual casual stance with his hands in his pockets.

"I want to apologize for last night." She said. Her voice was faint, a far cry from the way she usually sounded when she talked non-stop to him.

Had he not seen this side of her before?

An arm absent-mindedly rose to brush away the stray strands of hair that fell across her face and he caught sight of the white gauze wrapped around her wrist and hand.  
She'd started speaking but he cut her off abruptly, "something happen to you?"

She stopped, and the confusion was replaced with a look of recognition as she turned to where he was staring.  
Holding her wrist up, she smiled only slightly and shrugged. "You know I can never do things right on my own. Lee went to get water and I tried to undo a trap when he was gone."

"Dobe." He said rather curtly, startling her.

Her eyes flinched, and for a moment Sasuke waited for her to lash out with a defensive retort of her own. But she only gave him a smile.

Unknowingly, she had delivered the last attack and had blown his grand fortress open.  
He couldn't keep hurting someone, who didn't want to fight back.  
And Sasuke knew he couldn't escape it any longer, sooner or later he would have to admit to himself.  
Maybe, he liked her, more than any other girl.

At this, he turned away from her and wordlessly climbed the stairway. Like all the other times they had been together, he expected her to follow him, like a stray puppy.  
But now, he saw out of the corner of his eye, that she remained where he had left her. Her face was turned downwards, perhaps gathering whatever was left of her pride.   
He sighed in frustration and looked back. It took him a tremendous effort to speak his next sentence and make it sound as if it meant nothing.

"Oi, Sakura. Are you coming up?"

If he wasn't in such a predicament, he would have laughed at the way her face seemed to inspect him. And he realized how foreign he must sound to her now and just how much he had changed overnight. He no longer really knew who he was, nor what he was now becoming. _But for once,_ he thought to himself, _not having everything planned out was actually… interesting._

The door clicked open, and Sasuke entered first, tossing the apartment keys over the counter to his left and reaching out to flick on the light switch. Behind him, Sakura tentatively stepped into the house.   
He turned around, and his eyes observed her silently.

"You didn't seem so shy last night?"

"Sasuke-kun…" her voice trailed off, and she laced her fingers together. Her eyes looked everywhere but directly at him.  
He smirked to himself when he noticed a blush staining her cheeks.

"Don't even try to hide it, Sakura." He said, disarming her with one of his rare, small smiles.

And then as if he had not said anything at all, he proceeded towards the direction of the kitchen, tossing the two scrolls from his back pocket, directly at the bed.

"Drink?" he asked her, his tone sounded like he could not care less, and he barely spared her a glance.

"Green tea, juice, water, ginger ale…" he ticked each beverage off the fingers of his hand as he strode over to the kitchen counter.

Now, finally she looked up at him. There was a slight change in her features.

Her delicate eyebrows were drawn together and she seemed almost offended.   
"Sasuke-kun," she started, and he set his arms over the counter as he looked at her expectantly.

She ignored him, turning her head away once more. If he thought walls could talk, he would think Sakura were conversing with the portion of it beside his bed, seeing as her gaze was so intently fixed there.

"I don't know what you're thinking, and I will probably never figure it out. But if you think behaving the way I want you to behave is a sarcastic way of rubbing things in my face, then I…" her voice fell away, and she finally found the guts to look at him.  
He said nothing for a moment, and a lock of his hair slid towards his cheek. 

"Sakura." He was staring at her now, his eyes shadowed from the dark yellow lights in the kitchen.  
"What are you talking about?"

Her hands balled into fists,  
"Don't play dumb! … I'm not naïve." She shot back, and suddenly as if she was afraid she'd hurt him, her face drew back and mutely she glared at the wooden planks that constituted his floor.  
A mild annoyance twisted his gut, and he narrowed his eyes at her, waiting for her to say more. But she didn't.

The irritation continued to build with each passing second that Sasuke realized he could not even begin to understand the situation. He had been the one caught off guard last night, it was his foundations that had been shaken, he had stayed up all night caught in this foreign world where he could not seem to find his balance and here she was berating him for all the wrong reasons, when he was only trying to adapt. It offended him, more than he wanted to admit, that she would take his honest intention and interpret it as something else. _Those who love you, leave you._ The voice in his head said for no apparent reason.

He was fuming now.

"I don't understand what you're doing." She suddenly said and her green eyes seemed to pierce straight through him.  
This almost shattered his containment, and his anger flared for a second. She was pushing all the wrong buttons.  
He took a step towards her, even as a storm of emotions swirled inside him.  
He wanted to defend himself but his pride told him not to speak, to wait for her to make a mistake and start crying and apologizing again.  
_She doesn't understand you. And maybe can't, even if she tried._  
Damn that sensible voice.  
His eyes darkened and he almost glowered at her.

"What's not to understand? You don't think I'm capable of being nice?"

"I-…I'm not a pity-case. The last thing I want you to do is feel sorry for me. I know, Sasuke-kun, last night was a mistake-"

"A mistake." He abruptly repeated in a cold voice, surprised at how the words stung him. And he realized that it was indeed because of him, she had ended up storming out of the apartment. He had ordered for her to leave.

Uchihas were never easy to deal with. Above every other clan, they seemed to be the most stubborn. Sasuke had never apologized. And he was not about to start now.

"Do you think that, Sakura?" he asked quietly. His face looked at hers, suddenly as unemotional as ever, betraying the seething temperament that was threatening to take him over.  
Her eyes flinched and then slowly traveled towards the floor, a hand moved up to clutch at her arm and she seemed at a loss for words.

"People make mistakes." She finally said.

"I don't fare well with clichés, Sakura."

"And how else should I put it?" she shot back, her face jerking up to his.

Her voice shook. He knew she was trying to control her own anger, and the mild confusion that still lingered.

"I don't understand you." She said again, and her eyes cradled a blend of hesitant confusion and the worst kind of sorrow.  
The girl just had to keep saying it, the ultimate contradiction to his wishes. The very thing he'd been dreading to hear.  
He remained silent even when his heart was suddenly ramming against his chest, and the familiarity of the pain he had felt last night came rushing back, only this time, there was no bittersweet pleasure hidden within it.  
The dark voice was back, more belligerent than ever, pounding into him word by word.  
_No one can understand you, Sasuke. And here you were thinking you finally had someone who did._

No. He could feel all the newness in his current world slip away from him. Feelings that made him seem a dozen times lighter were fading away. And swiftly it struck him. He had stumbled upon hope, dreams, love. Things he had thrown away for the pursuit of his goddamn revenge. Emotions he had dismissed in training himself to be the perfect avenger.

And now he was remembering, what warmth felt like, what bonds of friendship meant. He didn't want his old world back.

His face turned to her, and pushing away every reflex that told him he was going to regret this moment for a very long time, he closed the space between them and snatched the corners of her sleeves, roughly pulling her to him.

She gave a choked gasp at the sudden tug and her fists curled against the hollows of his shoulders.

"You don't understand me?" he seethed and his eyes flashed dangerously, a liquid, luminous black.

"Then, how about this."

The Uchiha pushed his mouth violently on hers and his fingers gripped her arms, tightly.  
She gave a startled cry against his lips, and he reflexively locked an arm over the small of her back, denying her the motion of pulling away from him. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to feel the pain he felt.  
But deep inside, he was begging her. Pleading for her to look at him and see who he was stripped away in all his weakness.

_Yes, Sakura you're right.  
People make mistakes.  
I made a mistake.   
I'm sorry._

He wanted to tell her. Wanted to, but found he couldn't.  
If only things were so simple. If only Sasuke saw the world once more in codes of black and white then it might have been simpler. If he didn't care so much, then it would have been flatly easy. But now his world was bathed in colors of every imaginable hue, and he couldn't convince himself that he was a walking machine anymore.

For a moment, her body was rigid with shock against his. But the longer he held her to him, the more her defenses begun to slip away. Soon she was leaning into him, just like that moment in the darkness. And he was beginning to feel the world around him spin.  
But his mouth couldn't leave hers. She was delicious and he found that indeed, he wanted to kiss her forever.  
Gradually, he invaded the inside of her mouth, and the thrill of her lips opening in response sent a shudder through him. For seconds he savored the way she reciprocated his advances. Feeling the warmth of their intimate contact spread through him, basking in the moment, remembering the feeling of her in his arms for all it was worth.  
And then he finally ended the kiss, paying no heed to the invisible bitterness that protested inside him at the separation.  
_Leave._ He had said to her the night before. And now his mind opened, clear amidst the blurry tides that came with the ignited brush of her lips on his. He finally recognized the strange pain he felt as she left him that night. It was the pain that came with the realization that he had discovered something beautiful and then denied himself from it. It was the pain of committing a very big mistake he could have retracted.  
_Leave, Sakura._ The sound of it wrenched at his chest. And for once, the Uchiha felt the soft stirrings of genuine guilt and regret. His mind decided resolutely, that if he had made the decision last night to spare her from the pain of rejection, he would stick to it.

"Don't leave." He whispered into her hair, hearing the echo of his words from last night, already fading off into another dull memory.  
His arms wove around her, enclosing Sakura in a tight hug.  
Whatever roughness Sasuke had begun with, he now replaced with a strong tenderness he'd never been aware of.

"Sakura…" he started to say, all traces of anger now gone.  
She appeared unsure for a moment, almost ashamed when he pulled away, and slowly she turned her head to the side as a fierce blush consumed her cheeks, her hair fell across the side of her face, hiding her eyes from his probing gaze.  
Sasuke's thumb and index finger reached up, holding her chin and gently pulling her sideways so she would have to look at him.  
And then he lowered his face, surprising her with another warm kiss that was slower this time. More intimate than insistent and more passionate than deliberate.  
When he pulled away, his black obsidian eyes swept over her startled deep, green irises. And then his face changed oddly and she realized he was giving her a smirk.

"You like it."

Her love-bitten mouth opened and her mint-green eyes failed to suppress the confession that didn't need words.

"Then, Sakura… How can you say you don't understand?"

The girl shinobi watched in fascination as the curl of his mouth broke out into a beautiful smile, one that she had never seen before and she found her heart equally beginning to swell with more adoration for him than she had ever had in the past.  
His fingers left her chin, and spread out flat across her cheek.  
Looking into the boy's face, she'd never recalled seeing so much open honesty in the depths of those black eyes.

"You understand me perfectly. Dobe." He said.

And suddenly, she did.


	4. CONVICTION

CHAPTER 4: CONVICTION

During the rest of that week, Kakashi showed up later than ever and assigned them longer hours without warm-ups. They were forced to handle the grueling heart of training the moment the jounin's voice would erupt from somewhere in the trees or from behind them.

Sasuke's attitude had not changed with regards to his treatment of team seven as a whole. He preferred to eat alone, walk alone, sleep in his own tent if he had the chance, during the long missions. But every now and then, he would catch a glimpse of soft pink hair, or hear her demure voice inquiring with Kakashi, or even look at her and catch her looking back.  
She always gave him a small smile, and he, a slight curl of his mouth.

Needless to say, Sasuke's professionalism had not suffered greatly from the dramatic events he'd been placed under during the past few days.

Today, they were on another mission that sent the team far into the bulks of thick forest a few miles away from the Earth country.  
It had taken a span of a day from Konoha's north gate to the river's edge where they set camp and Sasuke was already starting to feel the toll on his arms and legs as he bent to survey a row of plump, brown mushrooms against the base of a nearby tree.

"Ne, sensei! ..."

Sasuke's attention wandered over to an exhausted-looking, pouting Naruto. The blonde ninja's eyes were narrowed once again into tiny inquisitive slits and his mouth was pulled out in a thin, flat disapproving line. He crossed his arms and then pointed one grand finger at the bent-over back of Kakashi.

"Why don't you just show up on time! It's all your fault, we have to skip the warm-ups just to complete the harder stuff. Now that we're on this mission all in one place, you still manage to show up late!" 

Sasuke turned his gaze indifferently towards Kakashi and watched as their wizened-looking teacher's visible eye curled into what looked like a smile. "Alright, alright, Naruto. I'm sorry."

And before the blonde boy could ask more questions or start complaining again, he tossed a fresh fish over to the orange-clad ninja.   
"Ah-ta-ta-ta…Sensei?" the genin fumbled with the wriggling, slimy fish as it jerked across the crook of his arms.   
Finally Naruto managed to wring it behind the gills.  
He gave Kakashi a hard glare and screeched, "what the hell should I do with this!"  
"Cook it." came Kakashi's lazy drawl, before he turned to squat over the river-side once again, tugging at the thin bamboo fishing pole to entice the fishes.  
Sasuke returned his attention to the fat, brown mushrooms lining the sides of the trunk near him. His basket was already half-full, and he didn't like mushrooms, so this little would have to do with the food later. He got up and walked away, wondering vaguely where Sakura was. He decided to take a little hike through the shrubs, thinking perhaps that it wasn't such a bad thing to bump into her, alone.  
He smiled to himself.

After ten minutes raiding berry bushes along the way and not finding her, he dismissed the idea and walked towards the direction Kakashi had set camp.  
Walking quietly into the clearing of the camp grounds, Sasuke immediately spotted his blonde teammate seated on an old, mossy log.  
Naruto was grumbling, as he held the pointed stick with the fish, over the flickering flames. It popped satisfactorily, and Sasuke heard the slight clamor of his own stomach for food. He collapsed unto the log, putting the mushrooms, pepper corn and berries he'd gathered close to Naruto's leg. Above their heads, the sky had started to burn pinkish orange, signifying the sun's decent.

"Sasuke." 

The soft voice of the ninja next to him was entirely new to him.  
The raven-haired boy looked sideways at his most despised rival and closest friend.

"… Kakai-sensei sure doesn't like explaining his being delayed all the time. I wonder who it is he visits on the cenotaph every morning."

Sasuke didn't even bother rationalizing it in his mind. He crossed his arms and leaned into a thick stump behind him.  
"You stick your nose too much into problems that don't concern you."

He heard the low growl of the boy next to him and then a shuffling motion, before he saw out of the corner of his eye, a piece of a flat twig hurtle straight at him.  
Without even glancing at the boy, Sasuke tilted his head back and felt the twig barely scratch the tip of his nose.

Calmly, he turned to Naruto, who was now standing with the fish-on-a-stick still gripped in his right hand. If the ninja had fur, Sasuke could just imagine a patch of it bristling across his back. For some reason Naruto really did remind him of an animal. Like a wolf or a fox of some sort.  
"You're a hot-head." The dark-haired boy commented in his usual, expressionless voice.  
"At least I care about other people. You only care about yourself." He declared.

Unexpectedly, the boisterous ninja's words stung Sasuke deeper than he wanted, and he was about to retort obscenely when they heard a high-pitched scream pierce the grounds to their left.  
"Sakura-chan," "Sakura!" the two shinobi shouted at the same time. For a moment, Naruto froze and glanced distractedly at Sasuke, who seemed as surprised as he was that he'd bothered this time to even call out her name.  
And then the blonde ninja uttered an impatient growl and tore through the nearest shrub. Sasuke stood for a moment, and his mind worked the direction of the scream. The wind toyed with the thin strands of his hair and he realized Naruto's direction was a little bit off. He would find her, but not as quickly as Sasuke was about to.  
An image of Sakura with a broken leg in a deep ditch shocked his legs into motion. He clenched his teeth, deciding on skimming the branches of the trees for more visual advantage as compared to Naruto's ground approach. With a leap up, he was traveling, his eyes darting from right to left, below him scanning for any signs of broken branches or a red dress.

After a minute, movement to his right, forced him to stop and direct his gaze at a dark lump of an object, a few meters away from the next tree. The object moved and Sasuke's eyes widened. It looked like an overgrown hog that was a shade darker than red or brown. Its hairs prickled and glistened in the fading light of the sun, and as it grunted and tossed its head, Sasuke caught sight of a small arm underneath. Sakura.

Panic seized him and he remembered nightfall at the genin survival course, when he faced Orochimaru for the first time. He recalled that feeling of certain death, of helplessness and hopelessness as he watched his opponent's torn face, the portion where the skin clung, loosely over one eye, twisting into a sick smile.

"Sakura-chan!" Sasuke heard Naruto shouting from the far left of the forest. The hog raised its head and gave a short squeal before pounding a sharp hoof a few inches from the lifeless arm. "That stupid bastard." Sasuke muttered, his brain frantically thinking of an approach.  
His eyes surveyed the terrain of his surroundings, settling over the jut of a jagged cliff a few meters above him, and the remains of a tree stump that lay there. Glancing to his right, his eyes lingered on a particularly thick tree branch. Experience pieced everything together and a simple tactic struck him.  
Without wasting a moment, the genin leapt towards a branch and forcing his holster open, he snatched at the coil of hair-thin, metal wires he always kept with him.  
In the flick of a wrist, he winded it once, twice around his first two fingers. Inside his mind, he was reviewing Kakashi's tutorial and the jounin's voice erupted in his mind.  
_The movements of the wires are based on how you control your chakra. Think of the winding coil around your index finger as an antenna. Bend it to your will. Make it lash out, wind around objects, or even puncture skin. Your chakra is as flexible as rubber and you can will it with both a balance of physical and spiritual control. Are you ready?  
Chakra to the feet!_  
He leapt upward, landed lightly on the cliff's edge, flicked his wrist and sent the metal flying around the log.  
Stretching a coil of it out towards his other hand he pinched at the other end of the wire, focused a certain blast of chakra towards the tip and let the end fly from his finger. He jerked his wrist, and the wire snapped further and faster rocketing towards the hind legs of the hog. With a few tugs of his arm he willed the thread around the animal's limbs and felt the sharp tug of it at his wrist, as it tightened over the boar's hooves. There was a loud squeal as the hog kicked out and Sasuke took the opportunity.  
With a grunt, he released chakra through his right leg, and fired a powerful kick at the log, aiming it towards the thick branch to his right and sending it flying out over the edge of the cliff. The stretch of wire bit into the bark of the branch to his right and the log flew a few feet over it. Gravity did the rest as the heavy weight of it plummeted towards the ground. The solid branch acted as an axle, yanking the legs of the hog upward with a sharp jerk.  
The surprised animal's cry echoed around the forest grounds and the hog rose into the air with a shrill squeal, its hind-quarters firmly tied together. It tried to buck, its front hooves clawing at emptiness as it dangled heavily from the branch. The log crashed to the ground and the dirt around it flew up in a thick cloud of brown. Pebbles flew and slammed around the trees surrounding the animal and in a blur of speed, Sasuke had disappeared from the cliff and re-appeared inches from Sakura.  
His heart gave a tight squelch as he saw the girl lying sprawled, bloodied and motionless in front of him.

_No._

Naruto burst out of the bush, and the sight of an overweight pig above his head, threw him back towards a tree trunk. "What the hell is that?" he shouted, looking over at Sasuke.  
The boy paid no attention to his comrade. His mind was completely focused on Sakura, and on trying to stop the flow of blood from a deep gash at the side of her neck.   
Naruto's face paled when he saw the lifeless-looking body of his friend and the pool of blood near Sasuke's leg.

"Sakura-chan!" his blue eyes widened, and he stumbled over to where Sasuke silently cradled her broken body. The Uchiha's pale hand moved to her neck, supposedly to feel for a pulse. After a few seconds, the blonde ninja heard his flat voice: "Get Kakashi."  
Naruto frantically looked over to Sasuke and then to Sakura's closed eyes. The sight of it all suddenly drained his mind of comprehension and Naruto felt himself almost swaying.  
"Get Kakashi now, idiot!" Sasuke's suddenly panicked voice broke into his thoughts, forcing Naruto to break into an awkward half-paralyzed run,  
away from the sight.

"Sakura..." he tried to get her to stay awake. But she kept closing her eyes. Each time he'd call her, her eyes would open slightly, and then as if every drop of blood to the ground was draining her off her awareness, the lids of her eyes would drift closed.

Sasuke didn't know how long he had been sitting there, with two of his fingers plugged into her thick gash to control bleeding. But he could feel the pain of pins and needles firing at the soles of his feet.   
Still he didn't dare to move, fearing for the life of the one who lay in his lap.  
Drops of sweat trickled down the sides of his face, and Sasuke noticed the sun's rays starting to disappear behind the foliage.

He held her head carefully, so it didn't roll to the side. He didn't want to see any kind of motion that might remind him of a life that was slowly ebbing away.  
So badly he wanted to kiss her cheek. Some part of him believed that if he did, she would open her bright, green eyes and smile up at him and everything would be okay.  
But once again, he could not stop the rationality of his mind.  
Instead he turned his head towards a clump of grass nearby, trying not to bite his tongue, trying to calm down.

"…Sakura." He barely heard his own voice.

There were so many things to say. But why did nothing occur to him now. Was his pride so stubborn that he would not admit more than necessary even in a situation such as this?  
Her lips twitched, and he thought they had turned a shade paler than how he remembered them this morning… when he had kissed her behind a boulder, and smirked at the surprise on her face.  
His hand brushed at a bloodied strand of her hair, and at the gesture, Sakura's eyes parted slightly. Her green irises appeared disoriented, only remotely aware of anything.

A pain he found all too familiar started to creep back into his chest.   
The same flashback that had been haunting him all these years was slowly replaying itself in his mind. The darkness of the room, the red-stained eyes much like his own. The glint of the kunai as it cut across his cheek and embedded itself into the solid wooden door behind him.  
He was a child again, breathing hard, and staring at the lifeless bodies of his mother and father. Asking the shape in the shadows, the murderer, why, why he had done such a thing and discovering his brother, hidden in that darkness, step out to reveal himself. His bladder wanted to give out from shock, and he knew if he lost his grip on the situation, he would piss all over the floor.   
The pools of blood he saw in front of his eyes were barely visible, barely shimmering in the light of the moon, and Sasuke was so thankful for that darkness.  
_No. Why was it all happening again? Why was fate so cruel as to take everything he grew to love away, from him?_  
Inside, rage reared its ugly red head and snarled at his whimpering helplessness. Fighting his panic, Sasuke jerked his head down, pushing his teeth together as he shouted down at her.

"Do you think it's easy! Dealing with a wild animal as large as that! Baka! Always thinking you can do whatever the hell you want without hurting yourself, you're just like that idiot-Naruto! Thick-headed… stubborn-" His throat suddenly tightened as her eyes glazed over, and her heavy-lids started to lower.  
"-and you're not gonna close your eyes, Sakura!"

Sakura. Sakura. It was so much easier to tell her things he had been holding back when her eyes were shut like this. It horrified him, the thought of exposing his most sensitive side. In a way, it felt like revealing a blind spot during battle, a vulnerable access point that spelled the secret to your downfall, the dreaded Achilles heel. But the need was so great, pushing against the insides of his chest, the need to pull her back from whatever state she was starting to slip into, that his mind decided on the total dismissal of his dignity.

"Sakura!" he snapped, and then his eyes squeezed shut and he bit down hard on his lower lip, as if he were giving himself pre-ordained punishment.  
"I-…"  
_Say it, you coward._

"I don't want to lose you." The wind seemed to carry his words away, or perhaps it was the sudden decline of his vocal abilities. He felt the weight of the one confession lift from his chest, even as he felt the blow to his pride.

"… I… need you." This second confession came out much easier. And in a rush of heated words he proceeded to unfold an entirely new facet of himself to her.

"I thought I could keep living for myself, and maybe, usuratonkachi, if you didn't show up at my doorstep that time, I'd still be…   
But, Sakura, it's too late." He shook his head once resolutely and his hair slipped unnoticed towards his transfixed eyes, his gaze was hard and his mouth barely opened as he talked. Quietly the words flowed out shattering the tension in the air around them both.  
"I already see it…  
Your irritating cheerfulness, your endless talking, your damn recklessness and naivety, the way you always think I'm right, and how you never hesitate to throw a fist at anyone who will defy me…  
"I hate it, Sakura…"  
His low voice subsided entirely and the wind sullenly preened through the branches.  
"I hate it that I love it." He finally whispered. A brown leaf scraped against his cheek in resolve to his admission.  
But her body remained motionless, her eyes showed no flickers of awakening.  
"And I hate you…" he continued, his tone stated it flatly.  
It hung in the air, and so did the Uchiha's hope, thinking that she would definitely transcend all common sense and open her eyes in horror.  
"…because whenever you're laughing I have to try so hard to hide my own smile, whenever you're nearby, I keep acting a little less like myself… It makes me feel stupid! Do you know, Sakura… I don't seem to care anymore that I'm not good enough to satisfy my own standards. I've lost the will to perfect every single thing I do." For a moment, he was shocked as the words solidified the stark truth of the matter.  
_I've lost the will for revenge._   
Swallowing the tremor in his throat, he continued.  
"…I'm already good enough for you, right? …I don't want to admit it ,Sakura…" his eyes lifted and his lips formed an almost bitter smile.  
"But maybe being good enough for you… actually… matters." And before he could change his mind, he shut his own eyes and said his final confession.  
"You wrecked my completely structured life. And now I have no idea what my next move is. I should hate you.  
But... I… don't... I can't hate you."  
He didn't notice her eyes open for a moment.  
His face studied hers but it was much too dark to see. Was it the play of the fading light on her features? Did her lips move to form a smile?  
Did he really see it? He was too busy thinking.  
What did it matter now? So he had declared everything. So what?  
Sasuke only knew he wanted her alive, because this was an absurd way to die.

The boar was still shrieking above their heads, but Sasuke barely noticed. He knew the wires would hold, and the branches had not shown signs of snapping. Besides, if it did fall, an insane part of him wanted to selfishly die along with this woman. With her, he realized, was one of the few places he didn't mind being.

Now, as he cradled her head in his heavy arms, it wasn't so hard to forget revenge.  
Her head jerked in his lap, and he realized how cold she had gotten. Again the panic came, and with it a bout of nausea. He forced the sudden lurch of his stomach down and turned his head around, his eyes scanning the trees around them desperately for any sign of the blonde ninja or their gray-haired mentor.

A hollow gasp from below forced him to look down. The girl he'd despised almost half his life, the girl he now discovered he actually loved, was starting to struggle for the air that would not come.

"Kakashi!"  
Sasuke had never hollered before, at least, not in that way. And he hoped he never would have to again. It sounded too much like the scared, sniveling child of his past, the weak little boy who quickly learned about moments more terrifying than Kaimas hiding in your futon, and his being powerless to stop them. A coward, who ran away from his murderer brother, away from his dead family when he himself should have died fighting to avenge their lives.

He refused to acknowledge the undeniable smell of iron that filled his nostrils and the thick wetness that was starting to soak the grass around his right knee.  
Sakura's fingers slowly started to loosen over the kunai she was gripping moments ago and the terror of watching the spearhead slip from her hand, almost forced another scream from him. His mind considered carrying her towards the campsite… or perhaps even straight to Konoha, but her critical condition forced him to stay rooted to the spot. He trusted Kakashi. After all, the man had fought alongside heavily injured comrades before. He'd know how to handle this. Sasuke had seen the full-extent of the man's speed, but only with his Sharingan. Without it, his movements were too quick to track, even for a jounin. He would be able to bring her back to Konoha in time.

"Sasuke?"   
He turned towards the voice, he recognized as Naruto's, even if he knew the trees obscured his friend from view. They were only a few meters away now, but even as he peered into the bushes he could see no sign of orange or army green.  
"Naruto! Kakashi!"  
A flash of white just to his side, and Kakashi was in front of him. His visible eye which always seemed to give him an air of laziness was now alert as he briefly looked at Sasuke and then studied Sakura.   
"How is she?" Naruto's voice hollered a second before his small body burst through the bushes and clambered over to them.  
Sasuke found he could not answer. At this point, his mouth was dry, his throat hoarse. And for fear he would sound as if he were on the verge of actual panic, he kept an agitated silence as Kakashi spoke.  
"Incline her head a little, and don't remove your fingers until I say so."  
There was a quick tugging and unzipping before Sasuke caught sight of a long stretch of white gauze, and a reddish, clay bottle that had the kanji character "wine" written in black ink, at the side of its circular bottom.

"Sasuke, I need you to focus a minimal amount of chakra on your palm, just enough that you can clearly see the waves around your hand. Then hold it about an inch above Sakura's neck right before I tell you to pull your fingers away. The point is to stop the sudden depressurization of the damaged artery. Got it?"

The usually, indifferent ninja now turned to Kakashi, his mouth was drawn tightly, and the usual closely-knitted eyebrows were now furrowed in worry. A feeling of dread had spiraled through him when he heard the words "damaged artery."  
But he nodded and did as he was told. He cast a look in Sakura's direction.

Things would be okay. Hang on. Hang on.

Just as he willed his left arm to stiffen, spreading his fingers out as he would moments before the eruption of Chidori, she coughed once and a small trace of blood and spittle grazed the side of her lip. The first signs of Sasuke's visible chakra fizzled away.  
"Sasuke!" the firm voice of Kakashi, jerked him to turn away and look directly at the man.  
Kakashi's eye was trained on him, and for the first time Sasuke saw the lines of stress and worry hidden within the small black center.  
"Concentrate."

"I'll do it!" Naruto's agitated voice rang out from behind them. Sasuke could feel his comrade's hard stare burning into his back and perhaps even in the direness of the situation Sasuke didn't want to lose to someone like him.  
He closed his eyes, stretched his left arm out and spread his fingers, drawing the energy from the chakra gateway near his shoulder down into his open palm just as he had perfected so many times back in the academy and during countless training sessions.  
His arm started to tingle and he knew the familiar blue light of his chakra was radiating from his pores, dancing down his outstretched limb in soft waves. Mentally, he closed the gateway and stopped the continuous release, then he opened his eyes and placed his palm just where Kakashi told him to.  
Another bead of sweat trailed down his temple but he barely noticed. Behind them, Naruto had collapsed to the ground, numb as he watched the horrible scene unraveling in front of him. The powerlessness was slipping into him, that particular negative feeling he had learned to push away and fight against since the day he made a vow by the blood of his left hand. He had sworn to never have to run away, to forbid any sign of weakness, to never be a hindrance or remain useless.

But now, even if he would move mountains for Sakura, even if he felt like screaming at them for wasting precious time and felt like snatching her away and running for the nearest village hospital, he finally realized all there was left to do was place his hope and trust in his teammate and teacher. Kakashi must know what he's doing, and hopefully, so did the boy he had always hated and loved all at once. 

Naruto looked fearfully at Sakura - the white arch of her neck, the shadows under her chin, the deep slash that opened from just behind her earlobe and stopped an inch from her collarbone. The blood that dribbled through the cut made it impossible to tell just how shallow or deep the damage was.

_All that blood, how can there be so much of it from one small neck._ Much of it stained Sasuke's knee and shorts, a small puddle of it was smeared over the ground, glistening in the light of the fading sun, the thickness of it coated the Uchiha's right hand.  
Naruto couldn't help it. He felt the bile rise to his throat and crouched to the side as he gagged. The ramen and rice patty he'd had for breakfast and lunch thankfully didn't come back up even if a part of him actually wished it would.  
Maybe then he wouldn't have to deal with the unsettling feeling in his gut.

"Fingers away, now. And keep the chakra flowing."  
Briefly, the young ninja glanced at Kakashi, then at the girl below him. Do it.   
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke withdrew his fingers and placed a flat hand over the portion of torn skin where most of the blood gushed out. A second passed, two, blood continued to leave her broken body and Sasuke's eyes widened when he noticed the situation did not appear to be getting better. Time seemed to pass them by, taking along with it the little ounce of hope and reserve the Uchiha still held.

"Kakashi. It's not stopping." Sasuke almost choked out, all manner of suppressing his terror had been forgotten. Now that the hard reality of the situation was starting to penetrate his world of denial, all he wanted was some form of assurance.  
"Calm down and don't lose yourself, this is important." The jounin spoke slowly, as his fingers pulled at the cork on the wine-bottle. It squeaked and then popped out with a tug of his hand. Quickly, he poured some of the odd-smelling alcohol over Sakura's neck, and squinted closely at the extent of the cut. Sasuke held his breath and looked down, dreading but needing to see. It was deep, so deep that for a moment he felt separated from himself, an outsider watching a very gruesome, terrible movie.  
In that moment his eyes were staring but were seeing nothing, as if his brain wished to spare him from the harsh cruelty of this, and her. He could no longer feel the inward-outward rush of his own breath, just that anesthetic shock spreading like a thick blanket over his head. This was as real as it could get.

Sakura was dying.

He almost thought he heard a small sound from somewhere inside his throat, a sound close to the first bouts of grieving. But even as he gave up his restraint, the noise stopped as quickly as it had started.  
Now it was replaced by another sound.  
Sasuke's breath stopped.

A low humming that didn't reverberate from a voice-box, and the sudden peculiarity of his body feeling different. A moment passed before he realized the source of the sound to be his extended left arm, the one hovering just above Sakura's pale neck. His lips parted slightly in surprise and he suppressed the urge to blink.  
His chakra - the motion of the waves along his pores somehow felt unusual and appeared far from normal. From the typical, irregular swirling flow, it now seemed to wash over his skin like strong, magnetic ripples and pulses. His right hand started to grow cold, several degrees colder than the temperature of the forests around them, and a sudden bout of weariness slipped like a coat of thick paint over the whole right side of his body.

"Kakashi…" the boy's voice trailed off. "I know it's difficult to regulate energy, but don't move your hand, Sasuke. And look." The teacher's eye seemed to gesture at Sakura's neck.  
He looked and saw. The glow fringing the sides of the wound — his chakra energy… was it his imagination? The skin seemed to be healing. The torn edges were starting to fuse together and the redness just began to turn into a lighter shade, perhaps pale pink. "It's… sealing up." he murmured, eyes widening slightly despite a sudden wave of exhaustion.

Kakashi's eye was curved into its reassuring, cheerfulness and he rested a hand on Sasuke's back. "After this, you'll have to rest. Leave it to me to return Sakura to the village."  
Sasuke barely had the energy to summon a nod. It was impossibly quick, how his chakra had been depleted in a matter of seconds. He felt his heart rate slow, the way it did after he and Naruto had spent a day and night scrambling up their separate trees during chakra control, and during that time he had first opened Sharingan with Haku as his opponent and he had barely escaped death. Even his outstretched hand, trembled with the effort of maintaining its leveled stance. But thankfully the wound was much more shallow now and the blood was gradually starting to stop.

"Naruto, take care of Sasuke. I'll come back for you soon. If you must, carry him back to camp." Kakashi gave out the orders as he inclined Sakura's neck and firmly wrapped it in gauze.

"Sensei, I can carry Sasuke and follow you back to Kono-"  
"Naruto," the teacher cut him off, focusing a sincere gaze at the panicked genin, "understand that I am going to be traveling very fast and you will not be able to catch up. You might get lost."  
A second passed that Naruto fought against the bubble of defensive retorts he wanted to give Kakashi.  
"okay, you got it…" Naruto's resigned affirmation finally came. He remained motionless, staring at Sasuke, and then at how Sakura's chest now rose and fell evenly. Her eyes were closed almost peacefully as Kakashi scooped her up and stood.  
Sasuke's body slumped to the ground moments later, just beside the pool of blood. He shut his eyes as his body shuddered, cold and weak. His muscles felt like lead, and his breath came in tight puffs, but he moved his head to the side, just so he could see Sakura safely in his teacher's arms.  
"Kakashi… will you reach Konoha… by tonight?"  
The exhausted ninja knew his voice was barely audible, and the hog had started squealing again. Naruto stood slowly, hovering just behind their mentor.

The jounin crouched a little to look at Sasuke. And Sakura's hand slipped just a bit off the crook of his arm. There was something in his teacher's eye that seemed to regard him carefully before he spoke in his muted voice. "I will get her there in less than an hour. Rest. You need it."  
Sasuke tried to move his lips, but even that was difficult, he discovered.  
Perhaps this is what it feels like to die, aware of the world but slipping away.

In a good way though, the comfort of reassurance unfolded inside him as he let his eyelids close. Not bothering to move at all.  
Let that annoying, blonde-boy carry his body back to camp.  
He wasn't a slave-driver by nature, but he would savor the feeling of being pampered.  
Kakashi had turned to Naruto now. He was giving more instructions. But Sasuke didn't bother to listen in. All he wanted was to slip into that dark hole of sleep beyond exhaustion.

_How uncomfortable, yet how wonderful._


	5. THE BITE OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER 5: THE BITE OF DARKNESS

In a leap, invisible to the normal eye, Kakashi was gone and Sasuke was unconscious.

Naruto let his eyes travel to the oversized boar above him, it had quieted down now. But foamy dribble was starting to drip from its mouth to the ground between him and his slumbering teammate. Every now and then it would grunt and struggle pointlessly against the wires that bound its hindquarters.

As usual, his rival-friend's traps were practical, and as efficient as they could get. Naruto hadn't heard tell-tale signs of branches ready to give way at all.

There was something different about his teammate, Naruto thought. Something about Sasuke had changed. Had he been too distracted thinking of beating him at every single thing that he had not noticed?  
This was not the Sasuke that prioritized himself over others.

Briefly, it occurred to Naruto that this was similar to how the Uchiha had risked his neck to save him. His mind thought back to that moment, when he had lain on the ground, bloodied and almost paralyzed from the pain engulfing his whole body. His vision was drifting in and out between a looming darkness and a startling light. Briefly he could remember Sasuke's voice as he called Naruto's name.  
"You better not faint, usuratonkachi!"  
"Stupid, I know that…" 

Naruto remembered his vision blurring, mingling with the dulling pain, the painful collapse of his weight over his needle-punctured forearm as he slumped to the ground.  
A gray shower of needles shot towards him and he had been resigned to thinking it was his end.

But then Sasuke, the ever noble, prideful boy who acted indignant most of the time and gave off the impression that he didn't care about anything but his own progress over everyone else, had taken the attack aimed at him, had grabbed the spotlight, unthinkingly and almost died because of it.  
Died for him, and gave him a chance to live.

"My body moved on its own," that's what his rival muttered seconds before his knees gave out and he hit the ground.  
Naruto remembered the shock coursing through him, and then the immense anger at the realization that he did care about Sasuke. He didn't want the boy alive just so he could try to beat him over and over again. He actually loved his friend —his first real friend who called him a blockhead, a moron, a piece of stupid shit, a worthless ninja, a burden to team seven every day they had been together.  
"You…" Sasuke had looked up at him and Naruto could see that his eyes had become a dull grayish color, as if all life was beginning to leave him.  
"Don't die."  
With that his head dipped into Naruto's stomach, limply and Naruto felt the sudden weight, unrestrained draped over his outstretched arms. A sudden horror strangled him when he saw that the Uchiha appeared… or was dead.

In that moment, he had discovered Kyuubi's manifested presence, and it had changed their relationship forever. Naruto had never thought the boy had been willing to lay down his life for him. Sasuke had lashed out at him, insulted him deeply and made him think that he didn't give a damn about anything that would happen to him. When in fact, the truth had been pushed to his face - teammates did form solid, indefinable bonds of something that might be friendship, and they were willing to die for it.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke, and a small smile almost pulled at his lips.  
Sasuke was a good person, he realized.  
A small part of him wished he had gotten to Sakura first, but Sasuke was indisputably more reliable than he was. The boy was faster, smarter, keener and better — at the moment anyway. This enticed Naruto, egged him on to push harder, train longer, throw harsher insults back at the boy. Sasuke was his inspiration and Naruto knew he had to thank him for it.

And so this is my thanks, the blonde-haired boy mentally told his friend as he hoisted the pale ninja over his right shoulder and slowly walked through the brambles, caring to hold on to the slim branches so they wouldn't whip back and hit his unconscious friend on the face. "Baka-Sasuke." He muttered for no particular reason, almost enjoying how the boy was unable to answer back.

Sasuke's body felt unbelievably cold to the touch.  
Naruto decided to set the boy down on his outdoor futon nearest to the warm fire. He watched him sleeping, the trademark over-sized collar of the Uchiha hid his chin and lower lip from view.  
His sharp locks of hair clung like moist raven feathers to the back of his neck and face and he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

What had Kakashi-sensei make him do? Sasuke had been able to minimize the bleeding.  
_I knew it,_ the blonde ninja looked at his friend squarely, _Kakashi had been teaching him._  
It was obviously some kind of medical technique, and Naruto once again felt that sting of jealousy at their teacher's obvious favoritism.

Sure he had Jiraiya, but so often had that old geezer neglected him and prioritized his so-called "moments of inspiration" sneaking lecherous peeks at women bathing in hot-springs or resorts, that Naruto felt he was not growing enough. Not enough to beat Sasuke.  
He was still offended that Kakashi would send him an over-sensitive, pompous chuunin teacher like Ebisu-sensei and then pass him off to that frog-hermit.  
Kakashi-sensei was just different.

He'd seen what the 27 year old jounin could do. And even if his pervert-hermit mentor had displayed an interesting kind of power and was one of the legendary saanin, well, he was just so agonizingly slow-paced in life.  
_With all that so-called women-research, He'd never be able to teach me the flash steps Kakashi-sensei had obviously been practicing with Sasuke._  
Even if the boastful fox-shinobi didn't want to admit it to other people, especially to Sasuke, being agile just wasn't natural to him. He had the ability to push his speed, especially when he depended on it to escape from the officers of the Hokage, but even so, he wanted to be able to do something the naked eye couldn't see.

If he had the Sharingan, he would spend a whole month with Lee, just capturing the gym-skill, taijutsu techniques the boy worked so hard on his whole life. Secretly, he did wish for some kind of bloodline-limit… preferably one that had something to do with seeing beyond the physical movements of an opponent.  
For the next thirty minutes, the blonde ninja listened to the popping of the wood in the campfire, musing over the event that just happened. His stomach still gave a little lurch every now and then every time his thoughts reverted to the glistening pool of blood, the rasping breaths of the girl he loved so much, the noticeable panic on the face of the Uchiha as he knelt cradling her neck.  
An uncomfortable feeling inside Naruto told him, something about Sasuke was just off. Not exactly wrong… but he was, a few moments ago, not very like himself at all.  
"I noticed it, Sasuke. And now, I'm not even sure I know you at all. Do I?"  
The blonde ninja was clueless as to why he was even striking conversation with someone who could not respond.  
_But, well, whether or not Sasuke was conscious, he wouldn't really be very responsive anyway,_ Naruto thought dryly, and he gave the raven-haired boy another glance.

"You should have let me save her…" he continued, looking into the darkness of the trees around them.  
"I want to prove my worth too, you know." Naruto's voice had lowered. Even then, he was having trouble vocalizing his secret admiration of the boy. This was just one way to outright tell the main star, the heart-throb, the damned prodigy-tensai that he indeed acknowledged his outstanding talents.  
"Why do you have to be so good at everything anyway?  
I work just as hard as you do. But you're better.  
You're always one step ahead!"  
He didn't realize his earlier, more subdued voice was now starting to rise, and his pent-up frustration was beyond brimming.  
"How can I be the best  
when you're always outdoing me?  
How can I let other people know I'm good enough?  
All they ever see is you and all I ever hear is:  
Sasuke-kun, sugoi!  
Sasuke-this, Sasuke-that!  
It's so annoying!  
Temme, how can I be the Hokage and carry that title with pride if you-"

"Naruto, shut up."  
The blonde ninja immediately did. His mouth clamped into a tight line and his incisors clicked together as his jaws collided. With eyes that almost bulged outside his head he slowly turned his face to Sasuke, who was now wide awake with a hand propped up under his chin and an exhausted looking smirk dancing along his lips. The Uchiha obviously found all his vocal confessions amusing and beyond flattering.

Naruto could feel the painful crumble of his pride. Why was he always so clumsy anyway. Why was Sasuke even awake? He wasn't supposed to be. Not yet!  
Even in recovery, the boy's ability was amazing.  
_Why am I admiring him even now!_ Naruto thought to himself, and he grit his teeth.  
His fists clutched at grass and yanked their roots off the soil as he stood and glared at the Uchiha.  
"Sasuke, you bastard, I knew you were awake. You really are so full of yourself." Naruto cried out, vainly covering his clumsy move, the bits of grass floating to the ground on either side of him.

"Yes, yes. Just keep it down. I've got a stupidly nasty headache." The pale boy murmured, even as he tried to control the twitch of a smile that was threatening to give his amusement away.  
"Keh!" Naruto responded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his orange pants and looking the opposite direction.


	6. OTHER PEOPLE AROUND

CHAPTER 6: OTHER PEOPLE AROUND

Over the next few weeks that Sakura was recovering in the hospital, Sasuke noticed a certain lack of his own participation in the mock spars Kakashi ordered him to participate in.

"You're not giving me your all, Uchiha… and I'm insulted." His senior, Hyuuga Neji put down his kunai and eased from his traditional clan stance. The soft-hands technique which was wholly fatal and dangerous even in friendly sparring, didn't intimidate Sasuke in the least.   
The raven-haired boy looked at Neji for a moment then made his way towards the wooden bench next to the soda vending machine.   
Neji's ice-white, transparent eyes considered his opponent before he sighed and followed the boy out of the field.

They sat on the bamboo-structured bench.

The two shinobi were not anymore than acquaintances but Sasuke turned his head and the corner of his mouth lifted in the trademark smirk that was both disarming and arrogant at the same time.  
Neji narrowed his eyes, finding that the younger boy was seemingly informing him with that one little expression, that he did not find anything the least bit interesting for him to take the spar seriously.  
"Hmm. Not even an acceptable display of ninjutsu , huh." The Hyuuga mirrored Sasuke's expression, before closing his eyes and turning away.

In reality, Neji was expecting Sasuke to be his chosen opponent at the Chuunin exams. He had practiced hardest when his mind envisioned Ten-Ten or Lee as the younger class rookie during training.  
He had not told anyone, was never really a vocal or emotional person to begin with. But he was aching to battle with Uchiha Sasuke.

Ever since he'd seen the fluidity of his movement and the solid connection of his high kick with Lee's grasp before the ninja exams, and even more when he saw the boy's attack and defense technique during the Genin competition with such little chakra usage. He wanted it badly.  
Him, Hyuuga Neji, the pride of his batch back at the academy, a descendant of one of the most reputed clans in the hidden leaf. He had such a great reputation to uphold, and he wanted the privilege and honor of fighting with the best of the best. Namely, the Uchiha, who was a batch younger than him, but possessed all the same, a talent and breeding equally as impressive.

Rookie versus rookie - That was the way it should have been.

Naruto, being his declared opponent honestly disappointed him. But then again Neji thought, loosening the knots that bulked at his shoulders, the loud-mouthed ninja had surprised him more than anyone else ever did. That uppercut from underground had been his downfall, and he had underestimated the blonde boy.

A slight annoyance crept into the older boy's features and his eyebrows drew together, unknowingly.  
Something made him open his eyes and look up. In front of him, the Uchiha was holding out a bamboo cup with fragrant honey-tea steaming from within it, towards him.  
For a second, the Hyuuga didn't move, and then his hands stretched out and he took the cup with not so much as a nod of thanks.

Sasuke and Neji sipped their teas in silence.  
"I heard about what happened on your last mission, Uchiha."  
"Mm."  
"Despite that, did you find it?"

Sasuke's eyes looked up from his cup and he leaned into the wall behind them.  
"The herbs, yes. The missing-nin, no."  
The Hyuuga gave a snort and closed his eyes.  
"The missing-nin was Kakashi's S-class mission. He asked you to help him out?"  
"He didn't have to ask." Sasuke answered in a clipped tone.

The Hyuuga caught the set jaws and hardened look in the boy's eyes and decided promptly to dismiss the subject.

He took a breath before mildly speaking. "And how is Sakura-san?"   
"She's recovering."  
"Ah."  
A long silence ensued wherein the older boy retreated into his thoughts.  
Really they were too much alike to ever truly get along. Both naturally quiet, limited to using as few words as possible, thinking much more than actually speaking, both just a little too proud and very stubborn. In a way, they didn't have to talk to learn about each other. They already shared a lot of common ground.

The Hyuuga emptied out the last of his honey-tea and was about to recline his legs when the younger boy's voice punctured the mutual silence.  
"We have an hour."  
Setting his cup down, Sasuke stood and looked with downcast eyes at the Hyuuga.  
After a short pause, the Uchiha's expression changed.  
"Again." he said, that same smirk tugging at his lips.

Neji sensed the change in the boy, gave him a nod and stood up, walking over to the large clearing where Gai-sensei had instructed them to spar.  
He bent his knees, set one foot just in front of the other, and stretched out his arms, his hands vertically positioned, his thumbs tucked into the palms. The stance of the Hyuuga Clan's gentle-fist, Jyuuken.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and his mouth twisted menacingly.  
Time seemed to slow, and if anyone had bothered to pass by the clearing they would most probably mistake the two shinobi for statues, frozen in their stance, one waiting on the other. Observing and gauging stance and power.  
"Kai." Neji finally bit out. And Sasuke whipped out a kunai, running towards the right and then veering sharply towards the left at incredible blinding speed towards his opponent.

After ten minutes, Neji's head was bent and he spat a wad of bloodied spittle at the ground.  
Sasuke was panting, face tensed in an expression of immense concentration. His hand clutched at his aching stomach where the Hyuuga had apparently blocked a chakra gateway. He noticed an immediate and dramatic decline in his speed.  
His legs seemed to trip one over the other when he attempted to utilized Lee's hand-to-hand combat and speed techniques.  
It was nearly impossible to read his usually predictable body.  
Neji was enjoying the sudden flare of hostility Sasuke was giving him. This was how he'd always imagined battling the boy.  
"Much better." The Hyuuga said slowly, and his bandaged arm drew upwards to wipe at the blood staining his lip.  
Sasuke took the opportunity of his unguarded stance. One second and three ninja stars made their way between the fingers of his right hand.  
He flung himself into the air, sending the deadly, metallic weapons whirling towards Neji.  
The older boy's eyes flashed and the nerves around temples surfaced. He re-opened the Byakugan.  
With a backward slide, the Hyuuga sent a line of dust shooting up in front of him and Sasuke heard three consecutive thunks that told him the sharp weapons had hit nothing but ground. He sidestepped his own weapons and ran into the kicked-up dirt in front of him.

_He's switching tactics._  
Neji watched as the younger boy came at him, hovered a few feet away and then completely disappeared, sending small particles of dust every which way from the sudden change in wind direction.

The Hyuuga recognized the move as one of Lee's tai-jutsu flash steps, an evenly executed one despite the severed chakra gateway near his abdominal system.  
But he had observed this particular attack many times from his teammate.  
Neji turned around, mid-way expecting the Uchiha to utilize his only blind spot, the portion of his back right between his shoulder blades.  
His mind worked, considering the possibilities. Was it a kick from the ground followed by the shi-shi rendan? Is the boy's Sharingan even open?  
His Byakugan swept across the environment in its characteristic 359 degree arc.  
He had barely turned around when the pressure in the air above him forced his head up in alarm.  
_Above_!  
And he wasn't expecting it at all.

_How clever._

The Uchiha had detected the Hyuuga Clan's weakness for long-range battle and had decided to conjure attacks from the air.  
The Byakugan strained to observe the chakra system of the Uchiha as he hovered in mid-flight for a moment above his head.  
A particularly high amount of energy was concentrated in his arms and across his chest. It fuelled a deep whitish-blue as the chakra increased in power.  
The boy was forming a series of complicated hand seals faster than Neji could catch.

The Hyuuga's eyes widened and the bulking nerves that surrounded his eyes sharpened just as the final seal pressed close to Sasuke's mouth, which at the moment, was starting to part.  
The younger boy's eyes flashed with a hint of red, and then the color died away into the blackness and all Neji could see was the very evident formation of his hand — the tiger seal.  
"Shit." Neji cursed under his breath and he tensed as the anticipated, dreaded words rang out from the Uchiha.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"  
A howl of deafening sound slammed at the Hyuuga and in a sudden burst of orange flames, Neji's surroundings were engulfed in heat that scorched the blades of grass and nipped at the edges of his clothes.  
Neji slid his feet apart, gathering chakra, in his mind's eye he could see the glowing green of the yin-yang ripples, the ancient symbols passed on from the branch house generation to generation that identified the range and kind of attack appropriate for that distance.  
"Kaiten!" In a whirling flash of bluish-white that formed a protective dome of energy and air, the boy deflected the flames that threatened to lick at his arms and feet.

In a twist of limbs, the raven-haired boy stayed suspended in the air. Neji spun to a stop and his face snatched upward just in time to see the Uchiha disappear yet again in an etch of disintegrating lines.  
A rustle to the tree a few feet away, and the Hyuuga's Byakugan caught it.  
The glint of a sharp kunai whining through the air towards his shoulder.  
His mouth twisted into a strained smirk, and as the weapon shot towards him, he bent sideways, deflecting the shot with a knock of his fingers in the mild way that was the specialty of the clan. The metal thumped heavily into the grass.

Just as quickly, Neji had snatched a kunai from his own holster and thrown it at the tree where he suspected the Uchiha was concealed.  
It slammed into nothing but bark.  
Sasuke was no longer there.  
And Gods, the Uchiha was fast. Neji so loved a challenge.  
From a few meters away, Sasuke crouched, a slight smile tugging animatedly at his mouth.

It was a long fight that stretched out for more than thirty minutes.   
Sasuke dropped to the ground, panting harder now. His eyes narrowed as he tried to drag in mouthfuls of needed air, fighting against the burning tightness of his chest.  
His hands spread out at the dirt beneath him and sweat was trailing down his neck towards the inside of his shirt.

The older boy landed a few feet away, and a moment passed that Neji remained standing before his knees finally gave way and he knelt into the grass.  
The Hyuuga turned his head slowly towards Sasuke, his limbs throbbing, his heart beating in frenzied thuds.  
It was difficult to breathe. Two blows to his ribcage, multiple leg-sweeps that brought him down on his back. A ninja star barely missing his left leg. Neji considered all this as he struggled to inhale. Clearly, the Uchiha was never to be underestimated.

"You… that was… a good one." He said, swallowing gulps of air together with his broken sentence. Then Neji gave him a rare smile that spoke of his silent admiration of the younger former class rookie.  
The black-haired boy gave Neji a once-over as he heaved.

"Almost can't move my arms and legs. I can't form seals."

"Irregular flow of chakra, it's like disarming your muscle function. I made sure you wouldn't pull that goddamn fireball at me again."  
Neji sucked at the cut on his inner lip and spat another bloody mess at the ground.  
He gave the younger boy an approving look.  
"How long will this last?" Sasuke asked him, cradling his lifeless left arm in his aching right.  
"Not very long."  
"Good."

The two boys remained on the ground. Five minutes passed, and slowly their panting eased down. Sasuke collapsed into an Indian sit, and locks of his hair slid towards his face as he slumped, wearily.  
Neji was equally exhausted, and he stretched his legs out, cringing as the cut on his left calf burned.  
"You'll be going home anyway. Sleeps all you need." The transparent whitish-lavender of Neji's eyes glowed as he gave Sasuke a glance.  
The boy pulled his knees up, willing his stiffened muscles into motion.  
"I'm going to the hospital."  
"Come on, Uchiha. It's not that serious."  
"I'm not going for me."  
Neji turned to the boy beside him, who looked quite distractedly at the whirring vending machine in front of them.  
"Oh? For who then?"  
There was a pause before the black-haired rookie fixed his gaze over the trees and answered.  
"Sakura."

_Sakura…?_ the Hyuuga echoed in his mind, and he eyed the boy almost suspiciously.  
He thought he saw the hint of a smile playing on the younger boy's lips. But then, Neji would never be able to tell, as he had never really seen Sasuke's version of a genuine smile.   
"Oi, Neji, Sasuke!"

The two battered shinobi glanced up with equally indifferent expressions on their faces. Neji's face was more polite though when he saw Kiba coming up to them with his small, yapping bundle of a dog.  
"Kiba, Akamaru." Neji almost smiled down at the white and brown muddle of fur. It grinned up at him with small black slits for eyes and sharp little canines. Akamaru looked almost human so that Neji felt the civil need to return the smile.  
"Come here sparring will you. Wanna wreck the soda machines while you're at it? Sheesh. You could have picked a more suitable spot."  
"Gai-sensei pointed this place out. Intentionally." Neji informed Kiba, who had wandered over to the vending machine and was considering the choices of drink.   
"Oh, yeah… and Sasuke, have you seen Naruto? Shikamaru said he was supposed to be sparring with you."  
Ignoring Neji, the wolf-like boy turned to Sasuke, who had started to stand on his two shaky legs as he dusted earth from his white shorts.  
"No. Haven't seen him in two days." Sasuke said in a flat tone, cringing as his stomach clenched when he bent over.  
"Saw him training." Neji looked at Kiba, and his eyes showed a sparkle of amusement.  
"Uh huh… where?" the parka-wearing ninja asked, pushing at a vendo button on a particular panel that showed a picture of spring water.  
"With Ten-Ten, actually, in the woods." said the older boy and he broke into a sage-like smile with his eyes closed.  
The other boy grinned wolfishly, his sharp canines protruding from the sides of his mouth.

"Ten-Ten, huh? That boy doesn't stand a chance."

"Naruto doesn't go down easy."  
The Hyuuga's eyebrows rose an inch from his eyes and Kiba turned his head to gape at Sasuke, who now had regained his composure despite his heavy arms. His hands were buried, as always, in his shorts pockets as he looked at them with emotionless black eyes.  
"He's strong. She might underestimate him, and she'll regret that." Sasuke's shoulders rose as he spoke.  
"Oh wow…" Kiba suddenly muttered, looking down at Akamaru, who seemed to be listening in on the conversation taking place. He nudged his furry friend lightly with his ankle and the dog barked in response at him.  
"That dim-witted Uzumaki Naruto receiving a complement from Uchiha Sasuke." Kiba laughed as he spoke and Akamaru yipped again, studying Sasuke with his tightly crinkled canine eyes.  
The wolfish ninja continued to laugh some more, but he stopped when he saw that the Uchiha was dead serious.  
His mouth pulled down in a wavering frown.

"There's only one explanation for this, here. Naruto's been promoted to chuunin status, hasn't he."  
The wolf-boy's sharp irises observed Sasuke as the boy crouched and re-wound his loose leg bandages. "No."

"Of course not," Kiba stated, barely missing a beat.  
"Even then you wouldn't say he was actually _strong_…"  
Something in Kiba's eyes shifted and after a moment's silence, he whipped his furry-gray parka hood off his head and his shaggy brown locks exploded wildly about his head.  
"Masaka! He's a jounin now?" The disbelief in the wolf-boy's voice couldn't have been more delirious.  
Neji's eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest as he sent a small incredulous smile towards Kiba.

"That's impossible. Jounin status can't be called upon a chuunin until he's done the required number of A-rank missions and is approved by the mentors of the leaf and the Hokage…"  
Sasuke ignored both of them as he cleared the strands of his black hair away from his eyes with a jerk of his head. The sun danced high over the trees, and the genin could tell it was now close to noon. As he looked off into the distance Sasuke could see the penthouse roof of the Konoha hospital.   
Kiba and Neji stared at Sasuke's back, the red and white Uchiha fan logo stretched across his shirt as he cocked his head up at the sky.

"Naruto has a tendency to mess things up…" the boy said simply. A light breeze started to blow against the silence that followed and the Uchiha turned his head sideways, the tip of his delicate nose contrasting sharply against the darkness of his bluish-black locks.  
"But that doesn't mean he can't put up a good fight. Ne, Neji?" And with that, Sasuke turned his head around, surprising the older ninja by looking at him straight in the eyes. The wind whipped the Uchiha's hair sideways and the Hyuuga was briefly reminded of shadowed crows in flight.

Of course he had heard, Naruto's defeat of the tensai-prodigy had spread quickly, much like the rapid travel of a bushfire.  
Some part of the Hyuuga was still trying to swallow pride as his pale-lilac eyes looked at Sasuke.  
"I'll tell Gai-sensei, we've finished." Neji said slowly. The boy was tempted to open his Byakuugan to study Sasuke's chakra signature. But from the earlier fight, he already knew that it was undeniably the Uchiha he was sparring with. From what little he knew of the younger team seven's relationship, Sasuke and Naruto's friendship-slash-rivalry was something he had heard mentioned many times. It was never a pretty picture when the two of them worked together, unless, as he heard from Gai-sensei, they were on the verge of a desperate, life-threatening situation. Then their commendable teamwork was flawless.

It was almost as if Sasuke had not been in a fight at all, he blew a lock of hair away from his face and tightened his forehead protector, the stark white of his shorts looked as pristine as when he stepped out of his apartment that morning, and his shirt was as neatly pressed as if he had just been listening to another one of Iruka-sensei's lectures in the academy. He turned to leave.

"Oi, Sasuke. If you see Naruto, tell him I'm looking for him." Kiba called out as his canine friend leapt up across his backpack and plopped down over his head.  
The Uchiha raised a hand of acknowledgement at Kiba without looking back. He ventured out into the town, making his way towards the hospital.

In the back of his mind, he was thinking about Naruto. _A complement for a complement._


	7. VISITING HOURS

CHAPTER 7: VISITING HOURS

"She's asleep. But you can visit her. Room 210, just down this hallway next to the medic-nin's station." The kind-looking nurse smiled down at Sasuke who gave her a small nod in response.  
"Oh, do you want me to take care of that?" she added, as her eyes settled worriedly on a cut Sasuke had gotten from the earlier fight.  
"It's nothing." He said giving the nurse a tight smile.

He was never really comfortable around the hospital and its staff. It went back to that one terrifying week he had to spend alone sitting in a rigid hospital bed, just after his clan had been massacred and he had blacked out somewhere outside his grandmother and grandfather's house. He had opened his eyes in the hospital with the events crashing down over his head in finality. He tried so hard to convince himself everything was a bad dream. But when he had gone back to the Uchiha compound, he knew the bad dream had solidified into a painfully strangling reality.  
_My family is dead._  
A small voice, the one he buried deep in his mind, whimpered, and Sasuke resisted the urge to slump without purpose to the floor.

He looked stoically ahead, even if his legs threatened to stop walking, even if his arms couldn't promise to catch him if he did fall…even if his heart was pressing painfully against his chest with every beat.

_210.  
Sakura._

Before he'd realized it, he was in her room with the light flooding down like a curtain of grace towards her sleeping form.  
He wanted to let out a strangled sob, a mixture of the pain in his past and the relief of seeing her again after weeks of not being able to.  
She was here.  
Whenever he felt the worst bits of the world close in on him, he always looked away from the threatening darkness and saw her.  
Her eyelashes settled like feathers over her cheeks, her pink lips were softly stretched out in the hidden traces of a peaceful smile. And her silken strands of hair spread out beautifully over the pillows, over her slim, graceful fingers. The strawberry shade of it that Sasuke grew to love over the weeks, grew to long for and craved to touch beckoned to him.  
He took a step forward.  
And then another… without the realization that he was holding his breath.   
His eyes wandered over to the thick gauze around her neck and he ached to put his hands over those white bandages, to feel the warmth radiating from it, knowing she was alive and getting better.

He stopped himself and stood rigid. _What was happening to him? Since when was he so sickeningly emotional?_  
His lips twitched as his inner self laughed. _If Naruto heard him declare his thoughts out loud, he would have a field day dragging the Uchiha's name in mud._   
The discipline he had grown up with kicked in, and he cleared his throat, as he pushed his feelings away and silently pulled out a chair.  
The awkwardness of this hit him like a fist to the gut and he briefly considered flying out the door.  
What if Ino walked in with a bouquet of flowers for Sakura? Or Sakura's parents arrived and saw him alone, sitting here with their daughter.  
He cringed and was about to stand to leave when he felt it.

The soft tug at his shorts…  
His eyes looked down and he saw that she was awake.  
Awake and looking mutely at him, with those clear, emerald eyes capturing the light from the window sill.  
Her hands held on to the cotton material of his shorts, gently, but firmly in silent insistence.

"Sakura…" He felt the heat rush to his cheeks, and the boy had a ridiculous feeling that she could see right through him.  
He looked out the window instead of down at her.  
Her hand continued to clutch at his shorts, and a small part of him wanted to pull that particular leg away from her grasp. He really couldn't understand the mixed reactions she drew from him at all.  
"I saw you…" she spoke. Her voice was throaty from sleep and barely audible. She gave him a crack of a smile.

That sent his body uncontrollably back, sinking helplessly into the chair behind him. He could do nothing about the sudden slackness of his legs.

"What?" Sasuke asked suddenly, forcing his heart down to its original place and mustering as flat a voice as he could. Inside, his body was sending him all kinds of reactions, from excitement to self-degradation.  
"I saw you… I heard you," she paused and slowly inhaled, her small smile curled into a wider one. He wondered if it pained her to speak, pained her to move her head and neck.  
His own body was aching. And it was an interesting combination of physical hurt courtesy of the Hyuuga's expertise and something else that he still subconsciously refused to acknowledge.

"Of course you hear me." He said, rather deadpan, knowing perfectly well what she was trying to say, but preferring to give her a chance to dismiss the uncomfortable topic.  
His passive face betrayed the conflict he felt internally. And he leaned his tired body into the chair and expelled a long breath.  
"…I mean, I heard you in the forest;… Sasuke-kun, I heard the things you said."  
Seemed she was insistent on pushing through with that particular topic then. 

The boy swallowed a swell of mortification as his memory fed him garbled-up snippets of what he had been mumbling to her as she lay bleeding.  
"Dobe…" his voice cracked from the strain of withholding himself. And he resulted instead, to eyeing her with an air of impatience before abruptly turning away.  
After a pause, during which he stared at a framed painting of five ANBU military ninja's skirting along a mountain's jagged edge, he continued with what he hoped was a tone of exasperation.  
"I had to keep you alert somehow."  
Seconds passed. And Sasuke continued to study the painting even if his body stiffened in anticipation to what she would say next.

Slowly, a light giggle came from the pink-haired kunoichi on the bed, startling him.  
And he turned his face to her, his hair spilling, unnoticed between his slightly bewildered eyes.  
Sakura was clutching the white sheets around her slim body, and her eyes were crinkled into half-moons with eyelashes that spread out like twin-fans against her cheeks. Her shoulders shook with mirth and she gave him a delighted grin.

_Look away, idiot. Look away from her now._  
But Sasuke could not.   
In fact, he stared at her, a transfixed gaze softening his obsidian eyes as he watched her laugh some more.  
He listened to the melodious tickle that didn't sound at all like her drunken slur or her annoying flirtatious giggle. And he discovered that he could listen to that tinkering forever.  
Now, as warmth spread through his body, the thought of not caring at all about his pride dawned on him with conviction. There was no harm in letting her know he had meant all the things he said.  
He didn't have to hide anything from her because she accepted him.  
Just for what he was.

In all his weakness and strength, his selfishness, his pride, his monstrosity.

His hands moved blindly up his shoulder blade, and his fingers pressed into the cursed seal he knew was there, as he looked down at her.  
He remembered.  
That it was Sakura who had stayed with him all throughout that night he was bitten with the mark of Orochimaru. She had taken care of him, had cried with him when the pain drove him delusional. Half the time he could not tell real from imaginary and her face was one of the few things he still remembered amidst the horror of that long, fevered night.  
The realization hit him for the hundredth time, but felt even more intense now that he was beside her.  
She was always there. He had never taken the time to raise his head and look. But she had always been waiting.  
Waiting so patiently for him to observe the makings of his world and see her. Even in all her bold affection, her boisterous camaraderie, he remained blind.  
He said nothing and waited for her giggles to fade into an acceptable silence. His mind thought a million different thoughts that for once, had nothing to do with his brother. There was a small battle taking place in his mind, the very kind that annoyed Sasuke. And he briefly labeled himself ridiculous before turning one side of his face and eye hesitantly at her. It was the battle of words. The scrutiny of each detail of his next sentence, something that the Uchiha had never thought of doing before.

"Sakura. What… do…. y-wantoo-eat?" the question started out slowly, and then ended in a burst of a few poorly uttered words.  
"Eh?" she raised her eyebrows, obviously confused.  
The boy caught himself equally surprised at how inarticulate he suddenly was around her.  
Then he looked at her directly, an expression as foreign as his last sentence dominating his eyes.  
Something in the depths of his irises shifted before a lock of bluish-black hair fell across the bridge of his nose.  
Sakura could not identify what it was that suddenly made her blink at him in bemused wonder.  
His black eyes slowly slipped down to the bed sheet around her legs and he asked the question again.  
"Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?"

Sakura almost sat up in bed as Sasuke formed the words in his mouth. A glimpse of his concern, she must be dreaming.  
Her hands slowly intertwined at her chest, as if she were saying a silent prayer, as if she were thanking whatever gods had handed her this moment… and her eyes glistened as she looked at him.  
"…Ramen." She said breathlessly after a short silence, and the boy slowly looked up at her and gave her a barely-noticeable, considerably adorable smile.

"Hnh."

"Where are you taking her?" the same nurse was now looking at Sasuke with disapproving eyes.  
"I'm going to get her ramen." Sasuke answered stupidly. On his back, he carried Sakura who was smiling half-apologetically and almost giddily up at the nurse. Her arms were draped around his wide collar, linking together at his chest. Both her legs dangled from the crook of his arms.  
"I'm not invalid, Sasuke." She whispered, and her eyes danced just enough that Sasuke knew she enjoyed being carried that way.  
"Bakaero, you can't turn your neck to navigate anyway. You'll fall down the stairs." He answered in his low, condescending voice, knowing well it was what she wanted to hear.

"She can't leave her room." The nurse said curtly, before waving two hands in front of Sasuke's face, obviously trying to get him to turn back around towards the direction of room 210.  
"Please, Ms. Akigawa. I haven't had real cooked food in two weeks…" Sakura looked up at the nurse, and her arms squeezed more firmly around Sasuke's collar.  
So much that he shut one eye and gave her a dry scowl.

"… and I want to enjoy it outdoors …with someone very … special to me."   
_For crying out loud _  
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly with the intial embarrassment of her words, before they narrowed in his characteristically-Uchiha defiance. He replaced his dry scowl with a crumbling look that was enough to deduce a rat to dropping its cheese.  
Her forearm carelessly grazed the exposed skin of his neck, that sensitive portion of it that led to behind his ear and it sent an irresistible shiver that was not entirely bad, up his spine. His crumbling look started to falter.  
He was only half-convinced that it was the warmth of a blush on his usually fair-skinned face that induced an unrestrained smile from the nurse.

Suddenly, he wanted to set Sakura down and continue the walk on his own, with his hands in his pockets just like he had been doing half his life. After all he could bring the damned ramen to her. He refused to be paraded around this way. Or rather, refused parading her around this way.  
But Ms. Akigawa stopped his thoughts with a distracting wave of her hand.

"Go on and be quick about it. Bring her back in twenty minutes."  
With a knowing smile, she turned away from them and walked off down the hallway.


	8. PACING, ADVANCING

CHAPTER 8: PACING, ADVANCING

There was a small canteen near the academy, not far from the Konoha hospital.

That's where the jet-black haired shinobi took the girl cradled on his back.

He'd already crossed paths with Asuma-sensei, who as usual, had a toothpick poking incessantly at the atmosphere from his mouth, and a slightly distorted cigarette stick protruding from one ear.

Either that, or it was a reversal of roles with the cigarette held clamped between his lips, and the toothpick jutting out from his bandana.

With him was Chouji, who was digging his paws into an astonishingly large pack of yakiniku-flavored potato chips. The bag crinkled relentlessly as he continued to swipe at multiple pieces, and the boy's usually small beady eyes grew noticeably larger as Asuma-sensei raised a hand to wave at them.

"Oi, Sasuke…" Asuma-sensei's voice trailed off as he caught sight of Sakura on his back, and his smile erupted into a full-forced grin.

The toothpick snapped and the portion of it outside his mouth fell to the ground.

"Ah…" the bear-like jounin growled in exasperation as he frowned at the dirt-covered toothpick.

His hand plucked the cigarette stick from his ear and he disposed of the remnants of the toothpick-half still in his mouth.

Absent-mindedly he stuck the cigarette into his mouth, and his triangular goatee dipped upwards as he rolled the stick around his parted lips.

"I heard from Kakashi. Tsk-tsk. It's a good thing there isn't going to be a permanent scar." The jounin looked down distractedly at his oblivious student, and his mouth twitched at the incessant rumpling of the foil bag in Chouji's hands. There was a minimal pause only when the shinobi stopped to gulp down some air, before shoveling more of the junk food into his open mouth. So many times he'd told Chouji that if he trained half as much as ate, he would already have been doing S-class missions by the end of fall.

"…Better send your thanks to the Gondaime, ne Sakura."

Asuma said after a moment, looking away from his student and giving the girl in Sasuke's arms a slight wink.

"O, mm, Asuma-sensei." the pink-haired ninja smiled in affirmation up at the jounin, who proceeded with a grin and then cracked a match to the end of his cigarette. The butt glowed orange and his eyes traveled towards Sasuke from behind the first puffs of tobacco smoke.

Chouji suddenly took a step forward. And he squinted with even more scrutiny at the Uchiha, who only gave him an equally dead stare.

For a moment, the fluffy, orange-haired boy continued stuffing crumbling potato bits into his open mouth as he confronted the blank gaze in front of him.

Sakura cut the silence with a warm greeting. "Ohayo, Chouji…"

"Oh, Sakura-chan. That is a great bunshin. Can't tell the difference at all from the real Sasuke. Na, Asuma-sensei will we learn to do that too?"

The plump boy turned to his teacher, his red spiraled cheeks radiating with the day's heat.

And then his eyes quickly returned to jerk back and forth between Sasuke to Sakura as if the boy was trying to detect a shade of pink in the prodigy's bluish-black hair, or a hint of green sheen in his onyx eyes.

The grizzly teacher's hand landed on the plump boy's head, startling him, and Asuma rolled his eyes comically as the stick in his mouth lifted.

"Chouji, silly boy, that is Uchiha Sasuke." The jounin's booming laughter erupted in the air and a few people turned to glance curiously at them.

Sasuke decided he'd had enough of the ridiculous scrutiny and useless banter.

The bundle in his arms was weighing heavier with each passing second and his muscles were starting to get very sore.

Cutting the meeting short, he turned to Chouji and then up at Asuma, who puffed broodingly on his stick.

"Sakura is hungry, so we're going to the little outdoor canteen. Jia, ne."

And with that, Sasuke turned away from the two and continued walking towards the wooden benches of the eatery, without so much as a backward glance.

"Sasuke-kun…" the pink-haired shinobi murmured in a disapproving tone as the Uchiha tediously walked around the various tables.

He gave her a glare before stopping in front of a bench and setting her down. A small part of him felt the day's exhaustion seep into his bones.

His arms still didn't have the fluidity of normal movement.

_ i That Neji. /i _

Sasuke plopped down wearily in front of her, stretching out his limbs and then crossing his arms in front of his chest, cringing at the ache that was working the nerves in his stomach.

"I should have just bought you food, and walked back to the hospital. This is too much trouble."

"I wanted a breath of fresh air… don't you think this is good for me." Sakura retorted, a slim eyebrow rose stubbornly and her mouth twitched to the side, even as she hid a candid smile.

Sasuke was too tired to argue. i _Or maybe she just looks too adorable to argue with, /i _his mind interjected sardonically.

He resorted to saying nothing, calmly unfolding the plastic menu in front of him, instead.

His eyes scanned the food list even if he knew all the meals by heart.

Just so he could distract himself enough.

Just so he could keep himself busy.

His self-restraint was on the verge of breaking.

After all she was so close, had been since he pulled up that chair next to her in room 210.

He could smell the familiar fragrance of her hair.

Even feel the warmth of her skin.

_ i He'd eaten here many times when he was still a student of the academy, occasionally with some of the more talkative boys who invited him, or with the audacious, giggling girls who approached him and sometimes begged for him to accompany them. But most of the time he came alone. _

_His favorite was the triangular, sushi patty with sea bass, and the toasted rice-husk tea that came free with it. _

_But why was he even telling himself these things. /i _

Sakura smiled at the feathery tips of his black hair poking up from just behind the brown laminated paper in his outstretched arms.

"Here." His low voice suddenly broke the silence, and the girl saw the menu being held out to her.

His gaze never faltered as he looked at her, but inside, he was struggling to sort out every bit of tangled emotion he felt. There was the constant happiness that recently accompanied seeing her, and the awkwardness of having to deal with a foreign "him," the anger that whispered about the neglect of his original plans, and the feeling of annoyance and desire intertwined as one, causing him to want to push her up against a wall with a rough elbow to the neck and break her soft lips open with an unequivocal kiss at the same time.

Even now the open acceptance of his feelings towards her wouldn't come. It was all so confusing, yet Sasuke wasn't really denying anything. He liked her, but that he could say it was all "plain and simple" would be a big lie.

Surprise of all surprises, he expected a long time ago that he no longer harbored a heart, and yet a substantial portion of it was now beating very quickly as his eyes moved across the delicate planes of her face, fell across the gentle rise and fall of her lips as she gave her murmured order to the attentive waitress.

His reverie was broken, and he snatched a breath inwardly as her pale green eyes turned to meet his.

"Don't you want anything…?" she asked, oblivious.

The boy looked up sideways and saw the waitress with a bright pink bandana tied to her head, a stained white apron laced around her bulging waist. She was staring at him expectantly. Her beady eyes unnoticeably planted into the scowl that was her face.

"The sushi-roll with sea bass, and the rice-husk tea." He muttered automatically, tucking his slim fingers under his chin as he eyed the blades of grass dancing along the distance.

For a few moments, the Uchiha stayed that way, pale hands twined under the chin, his contrastingly black eyes observing the surroundings keenly. In reality, he was distracting himself by reciting the proper combination of hand-seals for advanced-jutsus he remembered seeing in the Academy library.

A hand to his arm almost made him jerk, and he realized it was Sakura's fingers pressed against his skin.

She stood suddenly, and his face rose to follow her. The red of her dress rustled softly as she set herself down beside him.

Another small grin, this time the green of her eyes disappeared beneath the thickness of her eyelashes and a slight stain of pink traipsed the tops of her cheeks.

Sasuke was thankful for the lock of hair that gracefully shadowed his eyes because he was certain uncontrolled waves of emotion were openly molding the contours of his face.

She bent closer, and whatever was left of his calm demeanor dissipated, his chin slowly lifting away from his prayer-like clasp.

Sakura's face was close enough now that strands of her hair reached out to his cheek, caressing him in the most subtle way.

Unconsciously he felt his right shoulder moving away from her, or perhaps he only wanted to angle his face just right so that her lips would land on his.

Was it fear he felt?

Perhaps.

Though Sasuke didn't know at all what it was about her that scared him so much.

In a startling rush of a moment he felt the warmth of her breath on his nose, and a blurred curtain of pink hair brushing across the sides of his eyes.

The moment was as easily gone, and Sasuke was aware of her hands clutching at his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

She'd given him a kiss.

To his nose.

The flecks of light broke out inside the depths of her emerald eyes and she gave him a shy smile, regardless of her valiant approach.

He blinked back in surprise, feeling absurdly like he was 6 years old again. It was a melancholic sensation he recognized that was similar to the times when Itachi would teasingly poke at his forehead. It made him feel vulnerable, ridiculous and loved all at the same time.

The familiar wave of affection was awake inside him, and the burdens of his reality were now heading out towards another hidden village, another pained life that he no longer recognized as his own.

A movement to his left distracted him and he glanced sideways to see the waitress hovering near their table. She'd just set down two steaming bowls of rice with barbecued chicken for another couple adjacent to them. Her scowl had disappeared and she had a lingering smile as she tucked the yellowed paper-pad into her apron pocket and moved away.

He found himself blushing much too often these past few days, and he balled a fist to his mouth, coughing awkwardly as he turned his face away from her in a blur of raven-hair, indignantly closing his eyes as he spoke.

"Doesn't your neck hurt at all? You act as if it doesn't."

"The fifth brought me to the rehabilitation room three times last week. My last session with her underling was today. Strangely, the pain is almost gone." She rubbed absently at the bandage around her neck. The godaime had not allowed her to remove the gauze at all, but two days ago she had stubbornly unraveled the white material and snuck a peak at the scar tissue stretching from her ear to her collar. The recovery of her skin was surprisingly rapid and Sakura knew that the last traces of her near-death experience would be gone by the end of another week.

He turned to her now, and his eyebrows drew together in slight irritation.

"You should have said something, dobe. Then I wouldn't have had to carry you."

"Well-" the girl shinobi was looking at the sky, a finger tapped lightly at her chin as her lip puckered sideways.

Sasuke closed his eyes, refusing to acknowledge how her slight pout, which had spurned him for so long, was now so uncharacteristically appealing. Instead, his left eyebrow lifted slightly higher than his right in that over-confident way that came naturally to him.

"I… didn't think you would mind. I even thought you wanted to, since you were the one who suggested it."

"Hnh."

"Sasuke-kun…

Kakashi-sensei told me."

His eyes opened a crack and he propped his elbows over the table.

"…told you what?"

"That you were the one who stopped the bleeding." Her eyes glistened with something like gratitude and her hands intertwined and separated as she looked at him. Her face suddenly lost all its girlishness and an air of sincerity changed her features. She took in a breath, her mouth opened, and then she looked away and her hands dropped to her lap, limply, as if the weight of regret pressed down on her.

His eyes lost some of its arrogance, clouding over only slightly as he looked at her.

With his fingers once again tucked under his chin and his mouth flattened in a thin line, Sasuke slipped into deep thought.

In fact, the boy didn't bother looking up when his rice-husk tea was served in front of him.

"You… lost a lot of blood." The genin said suddenly, his voice straining as if he didn't want to discuss it.

She watched remorsefully as his chin lowered, partially hiding his mouth from under the wide collar of his blue shirt. The dread of that moment came back to him and suddenly he felt so tired.

With a sigh he lifted the steaming cup of tea into his hands and tilted it to his mouth.

Sakura felt her heart reach out to him, because she knew what it was like.

So long ago in the mist village, she had grieved, holding Sasuke to her, thinking the Uchiha was gone forever. It was immensely painful. The kind of agony that stole your breath and choked you till your vision went black and you were falling into the endless pit of lost self-control.

"I heard you shouting at me. How I shouldn't have gone off on my own…" A heavy, pained and humorless laugh came from her and Sasuke set down his cup.

Briefly, the haunting image of her bloodied body struck him and he felt his nerves prickle.

With furrowed eyebrows and renewed anger etching into his eyes he turned to her.

"Really, you shouldn't have done that, Sakura… You can't handle creatures as big as that hog. It would have shoved even Naruto or me aside if we were careless with it. You-" and the rest of his sentence went unfinished because the pink-haired shinobi had thrown her arms around his neck.

This time he felt no need at all to pull away, he could hear it, the soft murmurs of sound as Sakura began sobbing softly into his shoulder.

Just listening to the pent-up fear and regret that erupted inside her made him hurt suddenly.

"Na, Sakura… you're so emotional." He said, even as his voice lost its usual certainty, and wavered.

His heart beat quickened without his notice as she gasped into his shirt, her shoulders quaking against him.

For long moments, he let her cry.

Sasuke couldn't look at her as she finally lifted her head, green eyes brimmed with tears.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun… I-It was just so sudden… that animal… and the cold came so fast… I- I wasn't thinking. Everything was such a blur, I didn't think I would make it- If you and Naruto didn't hear me… I-I might have…" Her voice quivered and she choked at the thought of continuing what she was about to say. Instead her hands held tighter onto him, seeking comfort and relief in the tumble of her last small, muffled sobs.

His tightened jaw relaxed and his eyes lowered, the starkly black eyelashes pressing into light skin.

His palm settled over her back, because Sasuke felt such a strong urge to do just that.

Since he had first held her in the dark that night, he had known that Sakura's body seemed to fit naturally into his.

He felt the splay of his fingers over her skin, and his face pressed closer to her cheek as her weeping subsided mutely into the fabric of his shirt.

"Sakura…" his voice sounded so weathered down, laced in his exhaustion. Either that, or perhaps it was the undeniable tenderness that seemed to enclose them both. Sasuke no longer cared about anything else that happened around him. Thoughts of the waitress that could have been watching from the counter near the kitchen entrance, the other people littering the benches that might know him, the thought of Asuma and Chouji coming back for seconds, all of those things escaped him and were neglected.

All he saw now were his fingers as they trailed up her back, clasping at the soft strands of her hair, touching at the cotton-gauze over her neck. He had been terrified, scared beyond comprehension at the thought of her dying.

The perplexing reaction of his chakra had nagged at him several times in the past two weeks and if Kakashi weren't so busy with A and B-rank missions and supervising the new batch of ANBU soldiers, he would have showed up pounding at his door demanding answers.

Either one of his long-dead relatives had possessed the abilities of a medic-nin and it had unknowingly been passed down to him or he naturally had the talent for such. Both theories struck him as odd and Sasuke couldn't derive a reasonable enough conclusion just yet. But when Naruto and he would finally have a joint spar, he would ask the gray-haired jounin about it. There was a glimpse of something in Kakashi's eyes that night. He had been alert enough to notice even as the weight of his body rendered him useless.

His eyes closed and without knowing it, he brushed his lips lightly over her temple in a gesture of tenderness.

The dampness of her tears on his neck mingled with warmth as she pressed her mouth close to where his pulse thrummed in response.

For a long moment she held him, to the sound of people laughing and talking, clanking ceramics and the heavy rustling of wind. The high bubble of laughing children echoed in the distance.

But he heard nothing.

And after another moment his arms slowly tightened around her, and he embraced her with all the silent emotion he felt.


	9. CONCERNING RAMEN

CHAPTER 9: CONCERNING RAMEN

After another day, the Godaime went to check on Sakura one last time.

Her thick green robes fluttered around her legs as she walked to room 210 with Ton-ton, her mysterious pet pig, trailing just along her ankles.

"Ohayo, Sakura." She said in her husky, imposing voice. The assisting medic who opened the door for her, hovered close to the bed as Tsunade approached.

Sakura lifted her eyes from the biology book the fifth had given her to pass the time, and her eyes warmed at the sight of the blonde woman.

"Ohayo, Hokage-sama."

The Godaime nodded at her and wandered over to her side. Her blonde hair reflected the beams of sunlight outside the window and her golden-flecked eyes sparkled brightly as she gave the kunoichi a considerate smile, her rosy lips pulling up at the corners.

Honestly, Sakura still found it difficult to believe the woman was a day over 25. In fact she was more than 50 years old.

"I'll be sending you home today. I already called your mother. She's on her way here."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Thank You."

The Godaime's eyes suddenly flickered around the room as if she were looking for something, and her stare finally landed on the table near the windowsill.

"Ah. I knew I left a bottle here."

Ton-ton squeaked as Tsunade walked over to the table and grabbed the clay bottle before turning it over and eyeing the side.

Sure enough there was the kanji character "wine" scrawled in Indian ink.

The Godaime pulled the cork off the bottle and sniffed at the contents.

Her lips pulled up in a secretive smile as she asked, "So I expect he's been here to visit?"

"Who?" Sakura asked back a little too quickly, setting the book down on her bedside table and looking warily at the golden-haired senior.

Tsunade's eyes flickered before she gave the pink-haired patient an even stare.

"Naruto." The blonde hokage stated after a pause.

"Oh." Sakura's shoulders dropped slowly, "Well, yes he stopped by a few times to say hi, gave me a few ramen cups…" the shinobi's hand gestured to a corner where a stack of instant noodles were piled up, uneaten.

The Godaime turned to the medic and signaled with a nod that he could leave. The medic bowed slightly and within moments his white uniform was out the door.

Tsunade's hand pulled the clipboard at the foot of Sakura's bed and her eyes skimmed over the mapped progress of each treatment.

"Mm. Yes, speaking of ramen … how is i _he /i _? "

"Naruto? He's fine! Noisy and rowdy like always. He's been doing a lot of C rank missions lately, but, Hokage-sama… hasn't he been complaining to you about that-"

"-I wasn't referring to Naruto."

Sakura drew back suddenly, and as Tsunade gave her a knowing look, an identical look of comprehension dawned on her.

"Sasuke-kun…" she stated slowly

The Godaime gave a little chuckle and propped her hand on the bed post. Her shining eyes studied Sakura and the girl shinobi blushed and clasped her hands to the sheets.

"... I guess Naruto isn't Konoha's 'number one ninja in surprising people' anymore is he?"

Sakura's mouth hung open for a moment, and her eyebrows drew together as she looked at the Hokage. Just exactly how much did this woman know?

"No. I guess… No." She answered dumbly after many pauses.

Tsunade looked at her for a moment, and then laughed as she bent to carry Ton-Ton. The pig oinked at Sakura and gave her what seemed to be a smile.

The green robes rustled as the Hokage turned around and crossed the threshold towards the open window. Her hands touched at the folds of the gossamer curtains as she looked out at Konoha.

"I wasn't here to see any of you grow up, but people who have known Uchiha Sasuke since his childhood say the boy has a nice little mischievous grin…" Tsunade turned away from the window, and focused her intense stare at Sakura. The pink-haired girl said nothing, and the slight blush stubbornly refused to leave her cheeks even as her lips formed a small smile.

"Of course, most of them have forgotten what an Uchiha grin looks like. Since that boy barely even cracks a smile now." The Godaime said conversationally, setting Ton-ton down over the tabletop and giving the sake bottle clutched in her other hand a light shake. The contents sloshed around inside and she tilted the bottle to her lips, taking a small swig.

"Uweh." Ton-ton sqeaked disapprovingly as she squinted at the Godaime.

Tsunade eyed the girl-shinobi sideways as the bottle hovered over her rosy mouth.

"Still true?" she asked. And her eyes danced.

"What is, Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked uneasily, and her fingers gingerly fiddled with the sheets near her knees.

"That Uchiha Sasuke has a nice…little… mischievous… grin."

With every indented word, Sakura's face seemed to glow more and more pink and her hands automatically tugged the crisp sheets up to her chin.

"I-…" and to Sakura's relief, the Hokage broke out in a fit of boisterous laughter, placing a hand over the mortified kunoichi's back.

Tsunade shook her head slightly, motioning Ton-ton to her side.

"I'm only kidding… Thank him for me. He made my job easier."

"Oh… Hai." Sakura said, and her smile broke out into an embarrassed grin.

"Ah, also…" The Hokage's air changed into one of formality as she pushed a hand into her pocket and retracted a smaller version of the sake bottle she held in her hand. Only this time no character was written around the circular side. She gave the cork an extra push so it sealed into the ceramic tightly as she spoke.

"You are free to move around now, and I will start re-assigning you missions next week. Take this-" and the Godaime's hand gave the bottle a firm shake, "and finish it after dinner tonight. Ironically, the medicine in it contains the herb I sent you to collect for me in the forest. It completes the healing process and restores tissue damage…"

And then the blonde woman handed her the bottle after which she suddenly looked exasperated. Sakura pursed her lips together as the Hokage gave an unrestrained sigh and threw her hand to the counter behind her, her chest bouncing grandly with the gesture.

"Tak, I've so many papers to deal with, profiles of new students at the academy to review, ANBU teams to scout for and missions to assign… and the bills..." her voice trailed off followed by another frustrated sigh. Just as quickly her face changed and her eyebrows knitted together as she gave Sakura an apologetic smile. Her green robe rustled from the wind outside as she lifted her position and stood upright.

"I won't be troubling you with these things."

The Godaime then proceeded to chuckle. " And that brat Naruto says he wants to be Hokage…"

Sakura watched as the Godaime's usually stern, golden eyes seemed to soften at the mention of the blonde ninja's name.

"Well!" Tsunade suddenly said, startling the genin. "I better get back, else I find the brat already sitting in my chair."

Ton-ton trotted over to her ankles and looked up. There was a pause at which the Hokage's eyes seemed to pierce straight through the girl-shinobi before she turned and said simply,

"Say hello to him for me."

Sakura thought she saw a sparkle of mischief in Tsunade-sama's eyes, and she briefly wondered if the Godaime was still referring to Naruto.

With a last exchange of nods, and a billow of green robes, the Hokage had opened the door and disappeared into the hallway with Ton-Ton's click-clacking echoing behind her footfalls.


	10. FOXNINJA

CHAPTER 10: FOX-NINJA

Ichiraku was open, the reddish lanterns glowed, swaying slightly with the rustle of the cold wind. Dinner time was always the best time.

The bubble of steaming water from the heavy steel container of ramen noodles was the only sound that was louder than the insistent grumble of the genin's stomach.  
Naruto shrugged the collar of his thick orange garb higher to his neck, to counter the slight shiver of partial cold and delight running through him.  
Ayame, the daughter of Ichiraku's owner set a large bowl of steaming miso ramen in front of him and he grinned up at her, his blue eyes disappearing into tiny slits of gratitude.  
"Thanks, oni-chan."

The brown-haired girl tilted her head at him and smiled before splaying her hands out over the inside counter, regarding the small, hungry ninja with warm eyes.  
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto hollered, just as she knew he would. And the split of chopsticks had barely resounded when he was already slurping into his soup and noodles.  
"So, Naruto. Where's your sensei?"  
"Hmm? Which one, nee-chan?" the blonde boy mumbled into his meal, barely sparing the young girl a glance.  
"The one who usually shares dinner with you. Iruka… Iruka-sensei." She said, pressing closer to the boy, trying to catch a bit of his teal-blue irises.

"Ah! Iruka sensei… eto, he's probably staying behind to help the other academy teachers with some work. He's always been so busy these days, I haven't seen him-"  
Ayame's eyes widened as Naruto almost gagged on a sliver of thick noodle, and he quickly sucked the offending end of it into his mouth. A bit of miso dribbled from the side of his lip and the girl laughed as he blushed slightly and reached out for a tissue to his left.  
"Eheh. Sorry, I'm really hungry. Stupid pervert-head sensei emptied out my wallet again." And Naruto reached out to his green tea, sipping a bit of it before setting it down again.  
The blonde paused and finally gave Ayame a contemplative look.  
"Hmm…" she studied him with a sorry look on her face. Her eyebrows knitted together and her frown deepened slightly as she spoke.  
"And that was your last Ichiraku stub to a free meal?"

The genin didn't look particularly bothered by the fact, though it was true. And he grinned up at her widely, his whiskered marks stretching out across his cheeks. "It's alright, nee-chan," and then he paused, his blue eyes a burst of sparkling crystal. His sly features struck the woman, and she stepped out of the counter to sit next to him. "The teams that go on missions split equal pay so I don't really need to worry."  
"When is your next mission then, oh future Hokage-sama." She said teasingly, an arm bracing itself on the table.  
Expectantly, the blonde boy looked pleased and he gave her the sharp, devious chuckle that belonged only to him.  
"Ah… I'm not sure. But tomorrow I'm gonna visit that Tsunade-bachan's office and tell her to give me a whole mother load."

Ayame laughed lightly and suppressed the urge to ruffle his spiky blonde head.

A day at Ichiraku just wasn't complete without the sunny repertoire of the orange-clad ninja. Ever since she could remember, Naruto had been a regular customer. And he never failed to make her laugh no matter how sordid her day went.

"How many times must I tell you, brat that you should never call me _ba-chan._"

Ayame's head snatched to the left, where the low female voice came from and she almost dropped her arm as she saw the Hokage standing there with two Jounins, one of whom she recognized as Kotetsu-san, another regular. To his left, close to the ground was a small pig.

"Eh…?" Naruto turned around to follow the gaze of the startled ramen-girl.  
"Tsunade- baba!" the blonde ninja declared, eyes growing wide as the blonde woman glowered down at him.  
"Hokage-sama!" she corrected flatly in her terrifyingly resolute voice and the two jounins behind her gave each other uneasy glances.  
Ayame leapt up off the chair and greeted the Hokage with a back-snapping bow as Tsunade briefly acknowledged her and slipped into the seat beside the boy-ninja. Kotetsu winked at the ramen lady, as she raised her head, the bandage across his nose pulling up as he grinned.

"Pardon, Hokage-sama, but isn't the village briefing taking place right now in the restaurant next to the north gate?" the jounin to Tsunade's left asked hesitantly.  
The blonde-woman gave him a look that might have sent his jaw slack, as far as Naruto could tell, if not for the bandage that steadily wrapped around his chin. He withdrew wisely with a slight, respectful bow.  
"I'll show up when I want to." She said, and the jounin, with the white strip across his nose, gave his comrade a disapproving look.

Ayame re-appeared behind the counter, star-struck at the appearance of the Hokage in all her powerful grandeur in front of her. She had never thought the village leader would be someone who appeared casually in humbly, cheap restaurants, much less the kind that socialized openly with random ninjas like Naruto. Despite what she had heard of the Hokage as a reputed ninja of the legendary saanin, she looked barely older than Ayame who was born about 30 years after her. The godaime's heavy robes rustled into the wooden stool as she shifted.

"So…" Tsunade broke the terse silence, winding her fingers under her chin.   
The blonde frowned disgracefully at her, and Ayame resisted the urge to give him a reprimanding stare.

Naruto studied Tsunade ba-chan and hated how her sudden gesture so reminded him of Sasuke - the curl of the hands under the chin, the flat, considering look in her eyes and the straight graceful clash of fine eyebrows that enforced the thin press of her lips. The blonde boy found himself crossing his arms and looking heatedly in quiet impatience at the Hokage. In his eyes, there was no reverend label, only a hot-tempered and sometimes, surprisingly affectionate old-hag who now seemed to be insinuating a staring contest.

"Naruto, I've heard from Jiraiya that you refuse to accompany him to any of his trips out of the village. Why is this?" her golden eyes flickered sternly over the boy's face, though underneath it was thinly-disguised amusement.

Naruto whined excessively and stretched his arms over his head, his orange jacket sliding up to expose the black shirt he wore underneath it.   
"Keh, pervert-hermit doesn't train me. He bribes me into doing the henge-no-jutsu, gets my money, spends all of it and drags me with him to hot springs for his lecherous spying."  
Ayame was startled at the sudden bubbling laughter that erupted from the blonde woman to Naruto's left. Apparently the Hokage had a soft spot for impudence, or perhaps…  
The brown-haired woman's gaze traveled to the orange-clad ninja and back at the Hokage, who now had her hands braced under her head, observing the boy silently. A hint of amusement, and something else was dancing in her eyes.

Perhaps, the godaime had a soft spot for Naruto.

Ayame understood. Despite the somewhat grating attitude the boy had, there was an underlying magnetic charm that inevitably drew people to him.   
The boy-ninja was not the least bit pleased, he proceeded to dig his chopsticks into the soggy noodles and the godaime sighed.  
"I'm not going to force you to tag along with him, Naruto. But that man can teach you many things. If he is up to it."

The fox-ninja only gave a stubborn grunt and tilted the ramen bowl to his lips, hastily gulping down what was left of the warm soup.  
A short silence ensued, during which Naruto lowered the emptied ceramic bowl and swiped at his damp cheeks, and the Hokage called for a cup of hot sake.  
"Ano, Tsunade-ba chan…" the boy's honest, blue eyes glanced over at the godaime, who had already swigged down the fermented rice beverage.  
"Hokage-sama, you brat." She snapped, setting the cup down with a firm clatter that barely required any of the healer's exertion.

Naruto dismissed her irritation and swirled his wooden chopsticks into the soaked bottom of his bowl, "Was Kakashi-sensei ever a medic-nin?"  
The godaime's eyes considered Naruto for a moment before her mouth twisted wryly and she answered.  
"No, Naruto. If I recall your teacher's profile right, he never was."

Ayame proceeded to pour the godaime another cup of rice-wine and Tsunade gave her a brief nod before turning back to the blonde ninja.  
"If this is about your teammate Uchiha Sasuke, I will tell you, the boy did not learn that from him."  
Naruto's surprised teal eyes, fastened on to the Hokage as he dropped his chopsticks. "Oh, then Sasuke must have studied with a medic-ninja! That bastard."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed precariously at Naruto's inconsiderate tongue and somewhat daft perception of things.  
"No, Naruto. In fact, Sasuke learned that on his own that very same night."  
At this, the blonde ninja's irritation bristled even more, and he pushed the bowl away from him. Shoving his elbows into the table top, his face pushed into a flatly childish frown.

The godaime suddenly understood, and her eyes softened as she turned her face to the boy.  
"Naruto. Different people have different limits and also different abilities…"  
The blonde boy's eyes flickered slightly, but he continued to stare at the wooden surface in front of him.  
"Sasuke may have excelled at school, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's already better than every other student."  
"Besides,…" the godaime's face broke into a rare affectionate smile, one she reserved for very few.  
"You have a dream. And knowing how very stubborn and thick-headed and-"  
"Ite-!" the boy ninja screeched when Tsunade's finger pushed into his temple teasingly.  
"-boldly driven you are. Na, Naruto! Can anyone really stop you from taking over my chair?"  
The godaime almost never gave complements at all. And for a moment, Naruto forgot his anger and the slight throb of his temple, as he eyed her.

Tsunade gave him a small smile and threw the cup at her mouth, taking a full swallow of her second cup of sake.  
In her eyes, Naruto saw a flicker of affection. And he knew that perhaps when Tsunade-ba chan looked at him, she was seeing her little brother. After all he had harbored the same dream so many years ago.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when the iciness of formality flowed back into her golden-tinted irises and the two jounins automatically stepped aside as the Hokage stood, extracting coins from the over-sized pocket of her robe.

"Kotetsu, Izumo, one of you carry Ton-ton, she's starting to breathe heavily again."  
"Naruto," the Hokage's imposing gaze left the two shinobi and settled upon the fox-ninja.  
"See me in my office tomorrow. I'm giving you a mission."  
More life flowed back into the animated blonde ninja's eyes and he gave her a surprisingly generous grin.  
"Alright! See ya, Tsunade-ba chan!"   
The Hokage didn't bother correcting him this time, and with a discreet smile of her own, she turned around and walked away, her robes flowing across her back, as the two jounins and a happily pampered Ton-Ton followed after her across the darkness of the dimly lit streets


	11. A GENIN'S CONFESSION

CHAPTER 11: A GENIN'S CONFESSION

The wind rustled across the potted plants, pulling insistently at the edges of the scroll that was unfolded across Sasuke's lap. Sitting on a beach-house chair made of wood in his balcony, the ninja's somber eyes swept across the inked words scratched into the rice-paper. His photographic memory worked at memorizing the details of the next mission. The descriptions of the inn they would be staying at, the neighboring utility shops and easily accessible restaurants. Briefly he estimated how much pocket money he would have to bring, before continuing to read across the paragraph that described the highlights of the objectives. Relatively similar to the past three missions he had been assigned by the godaime.

Sakura had been in the hospital for two weeks, and as soon as he had been well-enough to move himself, he had been assigned more than six missions teaming up with a various assortment of chuunin exam winners.  
His thoughts went back to Hyuuga Neji and his impressive defense technique. Though the boy's guard method seemed to use up much of his chakra, he worked efficiently at protecting his fellow team members, and Sasuke had been able to stand his ground just enough to escape with a few scratches from the only impressive jutsu attack that had caught them by surprise. In the end, it had been his lion combo and the Hyuuga's sixty-four points to the chakra gateways that had ended the battle.  
It was an annoying Wind ninja that had gotten into their way this time, with personal issues that required him to retrieve the same book of scrolls that an Earth Village's landlord needed.  
He had pulled a technique that utilized the air around them to solidify into sharp, hot invisible needles that shot across your skin, burning the body at the slightest brush of contact.  
But three genins from Konoha against one chuunin was almost an instant victory, and they had successfully retrieved the twine-bound clump of parchment and earned their respective cuts of profit.  
Ten-ten of course with a few injuries of her own, had been sympathetic enough to convince Neji and him to carry the critically injured Wind ninja's body to the nearest village hospital.  
They were presented with the bill for his recovery, and he remembered flashing Ten-ten a violent look when she had insisted that they pay for it as well.

She resorted to googly-eyeing the Hyuuga, who surprisingly did not hesitate to pay for the bills after her insistent nagging and threats of refusing to spar with him for the next week.  
Ever since the raven-haired boy had his first intimate encounters with the opposite sex, he had noticed a change in him.  
A slightly-held curiosity for other girls was one thing, but also there was the tenacious spike to place himself in the line of fire for comrades assigned on the same mission with him.  
It was, Sasuke discovered, the result of his passion for his duties.

His eyes swept over more details jotted down into the scroll, before the shrill cry of a bird above his head interrupted him.  
Rolling up the parchment, he turned his face to the sky, observing the swift, sweeping circular motions of the majestic black hawk that flew further on to a rooftop at his left.  
He assumed it was a messenger of the fifth and another team of jounins were being called to the office. Perhaps for a high ranking S-class mission.  
Sasuke felt a familiar, incessant pull inside him. It was the motivational drive to be able to get to that level, when he had the ability to handle such a dangerous task, when he would finally outdo the best ninjas of Konoha and be considered the most skilled amongst others.   
_Then I would be satisfied, and I can hunt him down.  
Hunt that bastard down and bury him deep into the hell he deserves._   
The sudden flare of maddening hatred, and the sheer will for power suddenly consumed him and he grunted, his eyes narrowing into icy slits of vehemence before he swept his legs across the reclining chair and stood, the scroll slightly crumpled into his fingers.

Sasuke had already stalked across his balcony and was pulling at the glass doors that led to the inside of his apartment when he realized he was once again angry.  
Perhaps he could never truly dispose of the hatred he still held for Itachi. That he had been naïve enough to think a girl like Sakura could change that fact, made him cringe.

The glass panels behind him shut with a solid thump, and he tossed the scroll into the corner of his bed, the sleek locks of his long bangs flitting across his cheeks at the motion.  
His mind thought back on the events that same morning.  
Naruto had not been particularly conversational and more surprisingly was not the least bit hostile and over-confident. Their battle had been brief, efficient and free of taunts. Just the way Sasuke had always thought he had wanted.   
Only it wasn't. He found he actually enjoyed the blonde's self-patriotic mouth and over-indulgent remarks. Regardless of how it made him angry, it pushed him to want to outdo Naruto, made victories like now all the more sweet.

And it felt good when Sasuke pushed the growling whiskered-ninja's face into the dust under them, but it could have been better. The blonde struggled with impressive flexibility to throw him off, but the Uchiha's legs remained firmly pressed against his sides, his solid forearm digging into the curve of Naruto's neck.  
An interruption of a little whirl of air and leaves in the tree next to the sparring ground signaled the appearance of Kakashi, only thirty minutes late this time.  
"Ohayo!"  
And because Naruto's face was pushed into the dirt, the ninja failed to berate him properly, before the Uchiha pulled his straddling weight off the boy's back and stood.

As was the routine, Kakashi started to hit at the weak points of the battle like he always managed to do, regardless of how late he showed up.  
"Sasuke, you need to work on your left leg. The side-sweeps are a little delayed and Naruto-" the gray-haired Jounin lazily slipped a gloved hand into his navy-blue pants pocket as he looked at the fang-bearing blonde shaking the dust from his hair, "…be more receptive. Read your opponents movements. Sasuke is fast, but you should be able to predict his moves by now."  
Just as always, the Jounin's one visible eye had not missed anything and Sasuke wondered how long he had been watching, concealing his chakra.  
The blonde boy grumbled, and Sasuke stepped away, tucking his hands into his pockets as he regarded the Jounin with expressionless eyes.   
"Sasuke…" Kakashi suddenly said, and he leapt down from the tree trunk he had been crouching on.  
His eye focused on the raven-haired boy, still unreadable but gravely business-like.  
"Meet me at the restaurant in front of the sweet's shop later on. Around mid-afternoon. I've something to discuss with you."  
The raven-haired boy slipped a kunai back into his holster before turning his face to his teacher and replying in a low voice. "Alright."

It was the perfect opportunity to bring up what had been bothering him.  
"As of now,…" the Jounin's spiky gray hair slid over the left side of his face, where the black mask of his mouth met with the symbolic forehead protector that hid his Sharingan. He tilted his head almost comically, making the transition from serious to merry.   
"I have something else to do… and you're both dismissed."  
The blonde ninja had barely opened his mouth to object at the abruptness of it when Kakashi was already forming a connection of hand-seals.  
He disappeared in a whirl of dust just as briefly as he had arrived.  
Naruto closed his mouth, barely sparing his teammate a glance. And the raven-haired boy looked at him as he pulled away with a snort.  
Wordlessly, he walked past the Uchiha.  
It was an obvious fact that the blonde-ninja was still flustered over the way Sasuke had heard his whole confession in the forest.  
It was to be expected.  
After all, Sasuke would have been as mortified in his shoes.  
"Naruto…" the raven-haired boy's tone of voice, caused the blonde ninja to turn his head back, shady blue irises guarded.  
To the fox-ninja's curiosity, the Uchiha gave him a brief look that held none of the usual hostility or flashing intimidation. Naruto's eyebrows rose in confusion.  
Sasuke still had that meaningful look on his face when he slowly turned away.  
The fox ninja's blue eyes followed the boy's steady, even steps before they once again slowed to a stop and Naruto waited for something else to come from the boy, shifting his weight from one foot to another before, he snapped, his impatience finally burning through.  
"What. Are you waiting for me to follow you or can I leave?" The blonde boy asked, his voice partially laced in sarcasm, yet stressed with perplexity.  
Sasuke didn't bother facing the orange-clad ninja. And Naruto's gaze swept over the clan logo on the prodigy's back. The voice startled him.  
"Have you had breakfast, Naruto?"

The blonde's lightly-etched eyebrows drew together and he studied his teammate's back for a long moment. "No…" he slowly answered, "I haven't replenished my stocks at home."  
Sasuke finally turned around to face him, and as the wind whipped past his hair and nipped at his clothes, Naruto once again saw the quiet beauty of the boy. His presence was silent, yet radiated with ripples of suppressed capability and power hidden within that lean frame and stoical manner with which he now regarded him.  
At a nudge of his head, Sasuke gestured towards the road in front of them that inevitably led to Ichiraku.

"You're hungry and I have pocket money. Let's go."  
The fox-ninja's pride kicked in and he crossed his arms stubbornly, his mouth drawing down, furrowing into the corners of his bottom lip. "You don't have to pay for my meals, Sasuke."  
The Uchiha closed his eyes and sighed, his mouth dipping slightly, and then surfacing with a subtle smirk. "Then, I'm hungry and I have pocket money. Join me."  
The blue-speckled eyes that stared back at Sasuke wavered for a moment.  
"But… You never do this."  
"I only want to talk, blockhead. Now are you coming?"

As expected, Naruto's eyes flashed at the insult and he almost growled if the Uchiha had not turned his back to him the second time around and resumed walking away.  
"You're the blockhead, doing this all of a sudden!" the blonde ninja shouted after him.  
And as if his stomach knew better than to pass up an opportunity, it betrayed him, and gave a low rumble of hunger just enough that the Uchiha heard it.  
"I'm paying for your meal." Sasuke drawled out flatly, without looking back. And then he stepped past the sparring field into the dirt road that inevitably led to the street.  
Naruto cursed feebly at the ground and at his stomach, before his eyes went back to the boy.  
Sasuke now had one lazy arm in the air, the fingers on his hand gestured forward as if tempting the blonde to follow.

The fox-ninja's whiskered cheeks pulled into a dim smile he allowed only because the Uchiha still had not bothered to look back.  
Despite Naruto's now crippled dignity, Sasuke was being nicer than usual and he could definitely take advantage of that rarity.  
"Fine." The blonde muttered, only half-grudgingly and more to himself before he followed his friend out of the clearing towards the cemented road. 

Once again, the owner of Ichiraku was nowhere to be seen and Ayame had taken over the counter.  
Sasuke extracted a paper bill from his pocket and slipped it across the table as Naruto plopped down on the seat beside him.  
"Tempura ramen-" the dark-haired genin said, before tilting his chin down at the boy beside him,  
"and one miso ramen for Naruto."  
The orange-clad ninja folded his arms across his chest, and he studied Sasuke with considering eyes, blonde hair exploding vibrantly about his head.  
"How do you know it's miso ramen I want?"

The Uchiha's slanted eyes looked sideways at Naruto and the sun danced off the side of his finely-bridged nose as he sat. "You're predictable, and that's what you always order. Dobe."  
"Heh! In fact that's not what I wanted but since you already ordered it, I'll have it."  
Sasuke ignored him, knowing the boy was only trying to salvage pieces of his pride.  
He had not been kidding. Naruto was fairly predictable as long as the situation didn't have anything to do with battle. The Uchiha noticed that his teammate was quite capable of coming up with radically idiotic, and sometimes brilliantly impressive tactics during sparring sessions and actual battle. But when it came down to food, Sasuke knew the boy didn't need a menu.  
It was always ramen.  
At Ichiraku, it was miso ramen.

"I heard it took you two days before you could start missions again." Naruto said, giving Ayame a wide smile, before narrowing his eyes arrogantly at Sasuke.  
"Hnh. Two days just moving around the house isn't so bad." Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.  
"Yes, not so bad. Just boring." Naruto deadpanned in response before his chin fell into his hand.

His eyes silently studied the cluster of chopsticks in front of him before finally wandering over to his teammate.  
Sasuke's own eyes remained closed even when he could sense Naruto's calculating gaze on him.  
His breath stirred at the curls of steam rising from the cup and he leaned forward into the counter, strands of blue-black hair escaping against his cheeks. A remembered thought struck him as he brought the tea cup to his mouth.  
"Kiba was looking for you the other day."  
"What does he want?" Naruto mumbled, to which Sasuke indifferently lifted his shoulders in response.  
"Naruto..." Ayame's voice pulled the blonde ninja out of his state of lethargy, and his eyes perked at the sight of the steaming bowl of ramen being lowered in front of him.  
"Thanks, nee-chan." He slurred delightedly, his eyes twin beams of joy.   
Ayame mirrored his smile and Sasuke lowered his face to sip quietly from his cup.  
"Well, then my day tomorrow is all set…" Naruto continued, after he had fumbled for chopsticks "…after I visit Tsunade ba-chan, I'll go look for him."

"The Hokage…" Sasuke's eyes shifted and he looked at Naruto as he swirled the cup in his hand repeatedly. "What for?"  
"She's giving me a mission." The blonde declared, and he gave Sasuke a superior grin, his blue eyes steadying on the Uchiha's unreadable stare.  
There was a moment of slight irritation, when Sasuke almost wanted to push a fist into the boy's mouth just to stop him from grinning so deliberately. It was the kind of thing he always seemed to have only around Naruto: that indispensable sense of competition between them. The blonde was always dangling supremacy under his nose like bait. But Sasuke had never given in, though the dimwit did push him over the edge sometimes. Still he didn't want to give the blonde boy the satisfaction.  
The bowl of ramen being set in front of the dark-haired genin ushered in a silence wherein Naruto shouted his usual "Itadakimasu!" and Sasuke started nibbling on his starch-fried shrimps.

The quiet demeanor of his raven-haired teammate was never something Naruto had particularly liked, and between a gulp of tea and a sliver of noodle, the blonde felt the urge to talk.  
"Sasuke…"  
"Mm." his teammate answered from behind his tempura.  
"I heard Sakura-chan isn't in the hospital anymore."  
There was a short pause as Sasuke lowered his chopsticks and dug into the noodles. All Naruto could see of the Uchiha's face was the graceful tip of his pale nose and the fine line of his lips, which the blonde suddenly realized were tugging at the corners, in what appeared to be a subtle smile.  
"I know." He said, before holding the tea cup in his hand, taking a few swallows and setting the cup down. He turned to his teammate after the short silence, studying Naruto intently now for the first time since they had arrived at Ichiraku.  
The sudden interest of the Uchiha prompted him to keep talking.

Naruto laced his hands at the back of his head and his whiskered cheeks twitched as he gave a haughty chuckle. "I gave her half my stock of ramen for when she was in the hospital. And I don't sacrifice like that for just anyone. Geez, I really went hungry." He slurped at his soup, as if to punctuate the point.

"Do you like her, Naruto?" the sudden question almost made the blonde choke, and he hastily forced the hot miso down, even as his wide, teal eyes settled on Sasuke's inquiring look.  
In one moment, the fox-ninja's mind worked on the most appropriate way to answer the question.  
In the end, he settled on genuine honesty because the Uchiha's look seemed to request it of him.  
"Of course I like Sakura-chan." He finally said.

"Well, Naruto…" Sasuke's eyes flickered over to the bowl of noodles in front of him, and Naruto followed his gaze as Sasuke lowered his chopsticks into the soup causing small bubbles to slip between the mounds of noodle.

His pale hands then rose to clasp underneath his chin.  
A feeling of uncertainty suddenly twisted inside the fox-ninja's stomach as Sasuke's dark onyx eyes met his. The gravity of his stare outweighed Naruto's clamoring hunger and suddenly the boy forgot all about his meal when Sasuke's low voice solidified into the silence.

"So do I."

Sasuke felt the stirrings of mental exhaustion pitter through him as the event replayed itself in his mind.  
He pulled his white cotton shirt over his head and slipped it into the gaping laundry basket. Looking over at the clock right above his kitchen counter, he estimated two hours till his meeting with Kakashi, wondering briefly what exactly it was the Jounin wanted to tell him. It wouldn't be a surprise if it was the very same thing that Sasuke had been meaning to ask him about.  
The boy made his way towards the bathroom, flipping the switch open and crossing the marbleized tiles over to the shower.

Of the few rooms in his apartment, Sasuke favored the bedroom and the bathroom most. Both places were spacious, his bedroom having a king-sized mattress, a t.v. and a balcony. And his bathroom, aside from having a shower, also had a white, claw-footed bathtub.

The water was hot but not scalding. Sasuke's feathered locks were now soaked, pressing wet against the sides of his cheeks and neck. His eyes watched the mist below him distractedly, as the droplets of water trickled off the tips of his locks and rolled off his nose and chin. Beyond the hiss of the showerhead, and inside his mind, he could hear Naruto's disbelieving screech, his wooden chair dragging noisily against the floor, his hands balling into tight fists.  
Most of all Sasuke remembered those eyes, the starkness of his ocean-blue irises flashing into a narrowed glower - a cold counter to the short spikes of sunny blonde hair against his forehead as he roared Sasuke's name.

"…You want the limelight on you? Steal everything that makes me happy away from me?! Is that what you want?"  
"It already happened, Naruto." Sasuke's voice was strained. For the first time the blonde boy heard it that way, but it did nothing to alleviate the pain clenching at his chest, the heat behind his ears and the sudden rush of anger contorting the river-shades of his eyes.

"It? what happened!?"  
"I kissed her."  
Naruto's hands landed over the counter harshly and his teeth meshed together.  
"Ki- Y-…What!"  
"I didn't want to lie to myself and clearly, it was something I wanted. So what else was I supposed to do?" Sasuke said in a low, controlled voice, even when he could feel the hostile flare of the boy's raging chakra.  
"What else were you supposed to do?! You were supposed to be more considerate Sasuke, you piece of shit! Why would you go so far as to use Sakura-chan just to piss me off!"  
The Uchiha's face briefly faltered before he caught himself and his eyebrows narrowed. Clear black eyes squinting at the blonde. His mouth parted, and a tone of withheld vehemence escaped triggering the blonde's eyes to flash.  
"Naruto, the world doesn't revolve around you."  
"I very well know that, you bastard. Since you seem to think it revolves around you."  
Briefly, Sasuke saw Ayame's bewildered expression at the sudden tension between the two friends and the prodigy ignored her, turning his face abruptly at the enraged ninja.  
"That's not why I kissed her. Idiot."

Ayame let out a small gasp as Naruto's leg pushed into the wooden stool in front of him, his blonde hair crackling with intensity, the whiskered snarl now marring into boyish features.  
"Raaaaaahhh, Sasuke-"  
"I like her, Naruto." The dark-eyed boy said firmly. And his low voice successfully strangled the snarl of the blonde ninja, because it was honest. Laced in the Uchiha's calm fluidity, yet wholly resigned to a fact that was now starting to lodge itself painfully in the blonde's chest.  
"I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but I do. And I didn't ask for it to happen. I didn't want this."  
The fists that were clutched tightly at Naruto's sides wanted badly to punch out at the Uchiha. It was simply too ironic, Naruto wanting and not getting and the tensai-dolt getting without wanting. The whiskered ninja stood in a half-crouch, anger fanning out around him, deciding whether he should allow the moment of disgrace in front of the ramen girl, or if he should listen to the faint nudges of instinct.

And at the moment, his instinct was mingling quite excessively, to his dismay, with his conscience.  
Naruto had always been the type of person who found a bit of himself in different people. He had an empathic heart that made him stronger, and consequently at times made him weak.

"I didn't want it, Naruto. But I'm not saying that I regret it…" Sasuke's voice trailed off.  
A bit of what Naruto had always seen between his complicated relationship with the Uchiha, the narrow line that separated them as friends and rivals, suddenly dissolved when the boy's dark eyes captured his.  
In the honesty of the moment, Naruto was allowed to see beyond the usually guarded, inaccessible façade of the boy.  
The bond they shared, had never fulfilled the makings of a normal friendship. But it was during times like these, when Sasuke willingly pulled back his armor so Naruto could catch a glimpse of the humanity hidden inside his tough exterior that the boy finally saw the significance of whatever it is they had.

Sasuke trusted him.  
The boy could have kept the relationship from him, could have laughed at his idiocy as he repeatedly tried to reach for something unattainable, could have sealed himself away like he did with most everyone else. But here the Uchiha was now, stripped in all honesty, admitting to Naruto that yes, somewhere along the insides of his chest, there was a human heart, that somehow he was capable of giving and responding to affection. And maybe it was over-interpretation on his part, but it seemed as if Sasuke was even subtly asking for permission… and readying himself for the beating Naruto now so badly wanted to give him.  
He knew it well. He disliked being a martyr.  
But he also knew how much it hurt to swallow pride.  
And as hard as it was for Sasuke, he had forced a big lump of it down with Ichiraku ramen soup and green tea.

This realization kicked in, and Naruto found himself trusting the boy back.  
Trusting the boy's decisions, his feelings, his truthfulness…  
Trusting him to lessen the blow of the pain by treating Sakura-chan properly… The way Naruto always had and still did.

"I get it." the blonde ninja finally muttered. And in the moment's silence, his shoulders slumped and his fists settled back to his sides.  
He knew he was incessantly taking the abuse of torment.   
Sasuke was finally starting to see what he had always seen in Sakura and as for the girl, she already undoubtedly loved him.  
He raised his eyes and looked into Sasuke's dark, unflinching irises.   
A tug of guilt barely noticeable, crossed the planes of the Uchiha's face and he looked away just as the blonde noticed it.

"Naruto, sit down…" the dark-haired genin finally said, giving his teammate a glance devoid of the superiority and aggravation that was considered usual treatment. The calm stoical manner was back but was now coated in a certain fervor.  
Naruto accepted the Uchiha's sensitivity as he wordlessly slipped into his seat.  
Ayame raised her head from behind the counter, where she was seated and her brown eyes swept over the slumped forms of both her customers. Her heart wrenched as she watched Naruto, his hunger forgotten.  
Tthe ramen in front of him remained untouched, steam dancing above the hot soup had dissipated and she knew that the miso was cold.  
Apparently there was a first time for everything.  
Silently, she slipped behind the curtains towards the inside kitchen to clean out the utensils.

Sasuke didn't know how long he stood there in the shower, hair clinging to his nape and face, droplets of water hitting his shoulders, and the tiles below him. Soap foam brushed along the sides of his feet and he slipped one lean leg forward, letting the hot water wash away the remaining bubbles that clung to his knee and thigh. For a moment longer he studied the pattern engraved into the marble in front of him, and then he reached up and twisted at the metal knob, feeling the slow rush of air from beyond the bathroom as the water stopped falling.  
Wrapping a royal-blue towel around his waist, he stepped out, head tilting up to gaze across the light fixture as he stretched an arm back to loosen his muscles.  
His mind was as always, a silent, busy whir of clicking thoughts that never ceased.  
The familiar coolness of the floor under him pressed into the soles of his warm feet.

And then he felt his toes touch into a slick wetness that wasn't the consistency of water.  
Sasuke looked down, and the breath in his throat stopped.


	12. WOULD YOU?

CHAPTER 12: WOULD YOU?

It wasn't the rivulet of blood seeping in from under the cracks of the bathroom door that forced his legs into a run.  
It was the source of the blood that worried him.

Just before the door, his right foot skidded over the shiny slickness and he cursed under his breath as he clutched at the doorknob, all thoughts of slipping into decent clothing gone from his mind.  
He yanked the door open, took a step forward and then almost stumbled over the sprawled, motionless body in front of him.  
His muscles clenched involuntarily and his eyes glided over to the contorted face twisted sideways in his direction, the crimson fluid under the man stained his weathered cheeks and Sasuke instantly recognized the features that belonged to the fruit-vendor with the stall just beside his apartment.  
One eye was opened in pained surprise, and the other was partially shut in a swell of internal bleeding.

Dead.

His chest loosened from relief as thoughts of Sakura and Naruto left his mind, and yet the knots in his stomach pulled tighter as he jerked his face up, eyes sweeping stonily across the room.

The door to the balcony, the one he recalled closing, was now a full rectangle open.

"What the f-" the breathless obscenity had barely left Sasuke's lips when a chilling voice cut him off - cut his breath off.

"Those are the very first words I hear? Tsk,tsk…"

The hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck rose in immediate reaction, and he felt a tingle of fear, all too familiar, brush up his spine as his eyes trailed towards the corner of the room and settled upon an impassive stare so uncannily resembling his own.

"I don't recall you having such a foul mouth, Sasuke."

Itachi stood in the corner, watching the way his little brother's body slowly stiffened from the waves of initial shock.  
A countless number of expressions crossed his eyes after that, shadowing his face as he stood there, still dripping wet from a fresh shower.

The older Uchiha's thick eyelashes lowered as he eyed his brother's lean torso.

Sasuke's skin was as pale as he had always remembered.

He more resembled their mother, really — the sharp, yet delicate placement of his features, his finely-honed, agile frame, even the way his lips were put together in that fine line.

And that blue-black, raven hair,

Itachi still held vivid memories of the way it scraped across his temples and cheeks when he carried the boy on his back.  
It still fell along his face in sharp silken bangs, still stubbornly lifted at the edges even as the water soaked it.  
But that wasn't where his gaze lingered.  
It was Sasuke's eyes that captivated him now - both the appearance of it and the embodied expression he found in it.  
As the older brother's Sharingan studied those painfully familiar depths of black, he saw, glaring back at him, the disapproving look of his mother, also the very same eyes that flowed with soft tenderness at the first utterance of sincere apology.

There was warmth his little brother still carried in his coal-black eyes, somewhat suppressed, hidden deep in himself.  
And it was precisely this, Itachi realized, that made them so different.  
So far from his own eyes - Eyes that inherited his father's stony glare, thick, dark eyelashes and the permanent marks of restless, sleepless nights, eyes that held no room for argument or mercy.

Now as he looked at his little brother, his dearest Sasuke, the only thing more difficult than the sudden resuscitation of the past, was the way the younger Uchiha vehemently looked at him.

His eyes were no longer big and innocently curious, no longer shining with happiness at the call of his name. Years of hating him, of being alone, of dealing with weathering solitude and unwanted independence had made those eyes harden gradually in malevolence.

The older brother took in sweet breath as irises bathed in a red as crimson as the blood that stained the floor, greeted him, flashing with a steady, spinning whirl of black that now begun to settle in dots of two.

_So,_ the older Uchiha thought, _he finally has it._

Itachi steadily observed Sasuke, catching a glimpse of pale inner thigh as he languidly stepped over the dead body lying on his floor.  
The young boy's eyes didn't look down, didn't even flinch when Itachi's irises flickered over the trail of bloody footsteps behind him.  
"That will leave a mess."The brother in black murmured as he watched the liquid seep into the wood, still listlessly passive on the outside.

Sasuke's face struck him, a mask of unfathomable but evenly controlled fury.  
His dark eyebrows snapped together and there was a glimpse of his teeth as his low voice hissed out.  
"I'll clean it up after I kill you."

Itachi was reminded of his own anger the day he had mistakenly shown Sasuke his Mangekyou Sharingan, the day he had startled their father and some relatives by throwing a kunai into the painted Uchiha logo on the compound wall and cursed his clan's name.  
His little brother held the same quiet composition, the same firm resolve of calm despite the raging hatred, and he felt an uncontrollable bite of fondness in spite of the murder on the floor and it's reflection in the younger Uchiha's eyes.

"You are a lot like me." He said in a soft voice.

"Oh, how so? Do you clean up after dead bodies? Because if I remember right, you left Konoha's elite to do that job for you last time." The younger boy bit out sarcastically before he caught himself, lips slowly drawing together, eyes becoming stonily calm.

"But in some sick, twisted way… brother. We do share common ground."

Sasuke's admission was bitter, saying the word "brother" in a way that conclusively would have stung even if it were an acknowledgement.

"After all… I have intentions of killing Uchiha too."

Itachi said nothing as Sasuke's eyes narrowed into sharp, poisonous slits.

"Being merciless does run in the family." The younger boy whispered.

Itachi felt it -the strong pulse of chakra thumping invisibly against his skin, threatening along his consciousness.  
It too, despite the impressive increase in power, still felt distinctly like his little brother, only something embedded in that chakra, something from another side of his past, brushed at him, and Itachi's mouth parted slightly behind the thick, broad neckline of his black robe with the surprising familiarity of it.

Again his eyes flickered with fascination over the young genin.  
_Well now, this is interesting._

Itachi had barely blinked when he felt the powerful release of that same familiar energy in the form of a single magnetic pulse.

A slivering movement of jagged black inched across the younger Uchiha's pale neck, catching Itachi's full attention.  
And he turned his head, blood-red eyes lingering as another sharp slash of black started to snake along Sasuke's pale jaw.

Then there were a dozen other markings of the same kind, blooming like black flowers, paving a steady path along his skin, curling around his navel and moulding into his hips, snaking like black flame along his arms.

And Sasuke watched as Itachi's eyebrows lifted in brief surprise, thoughts of trying to restrain emotion, forgotten.

Kakashi had warned him excessively about utilizing the dangerous energy when he had placed a counter-seal on Orochimaru's mark.  
And Sasuke could feel the overwhelming power brimming, threatening to throw his rationality off-balance.  
Could feel the consequences, as his skin burned where the marks slid, could recognize the familiar sharp pain digging into the vessels of his chakra system.

He fought against the recoil of his body, gnashed his teeth to cut off the searing agony.  
If there was any time he needed the strength, it was now. He would use all of him to take the bastard down.

His left arm ignited in an eruption of flickering bluish-white energy.  
The pulse of his own chakra pushed up stubbornly against his palm and he forced the crackling bolts down into the ground, the currents of energy shooting dangerously close to the planks of his floor.

Sasuke didn't care, no longer felt the gnawing pain.

Chidori shrieked deafeningly, a thousand birds' shrill cries in front of his brother, just as he had imagined it a hundred times….

And then, a sound the young Uchiha wasn't anticipating abruptly jolted his distorted euphoria.

He heard the familiarity of it.  
Itachi nee-san and his low, rich string of laughter.

In all honesty, Sasuke DID expect the current reactions of his body.  
Expected his blood to run cold, expected the sudden confusion and even expected the strange feeling of disgust that forced his mouth into a wavering scowl.

But what he hadn't been expecting, were the pangs of longing he now felt as he looked into his brother's face.

He already knew.  
It only make him weak.  
It would ruin everything.

But in the flash of a moment, he saw the older brother he looked up to all those years ago, his eyes a brooding black that turned a strange coffee brown as the sun hit, his olive-tinged, dark hair tied loosely in a straight tail over his back, his smile small, but charmingly contagious.

And the laugh echoed.  
Radiating with warmth as Sasuke was once again sitting with him on the wooden steps of the compound, complaining to him about how annoying girls insistently screeched his name in school, boasting of how the jealous kid from the batch above him challenged him to a kunai-throwing contest during the weekend Itachi had been gone with his ANBU team, endlessly badgering his older brother to teach him the twelve common seals of the shinobi.

Sasuke always cringed at the light ruffling of Itachi's hand over his head, because it made him feel childish and stupid. But he had always allowed it, regardless. Because he felt the warmth of contact seeping into him comfortably, looking up into his brother's crinkling eyes and hearing that same rich chuckle.

It was all worth the ridicule.

When Itachi laughed the way he did, everything in the world seemed just where it rightfully was.

And all those years ago, the little Uchiha had never doubted it.

Sasuke's eyes dimmed slightly.  
And without realizing it, the young prodigy let his chakra die away, the shrill fizzling faded into silence, leaving his bare forearm and the cracks between his fingers slightly bruised from the lash of prickling bolts.

There were so many questions spinning hazily in his mind.  
So much he wanted to ask the murderer in front of him.

Itachi's eyes were pressed into beautiful half-moons, despite the threatening red of his irises.  
But the last of his soft chuckling had faded into the muteness of the room subsiding together with Chidori.

"Sasuke, I only came to visit. And, my… how much you've grown." his low voice murmured. The younger boy's eyes swept over his.

Hatred still swirled heavily under the surface, yet Itachi recognized the same stirrings of melancholy he himself felt.

Only Sasuke, only his baby brother had ever truly given him happiness.

In Sasuke, he saw a different kind of person, a different future being built, a future far from his own. He saw hope.

Slashed deeply into flesh, looked into his dying father's slow-spinning Sharingan, saw the end of his incessant tyranny and finally saw Sasuke's freedom. Walked the blood-stained walls of the compound, stepped over bodies of relatives, murdered a few others and saw only the rise of a new beginning.

Even after he learned to kill whoever got into his way without batting an eyelash, he thought about Sasuke.

And then he would remember that somewhere inside him, there was still a heart.

Briefly, the worn-looking Uchiha wondered if the pale boy standing in front of him knew this.  
And he decided just as quickly, that it was only right if he didn't.  
It was a surprise to him. That his plans had somewhat faltered.  
In the end, his younger brother still didn't have enough hate to truly destroy him.

Yes he wanted the punishment, wanted to die by the hand of the one who was ultimately stronger than him.  
He had been keeping himself alive, waiting for Sasuke, only Sasuke to take him.

Here now, he had come, thinking the time might be right.  
Right for the battle that determined fate.

But now, he was somewhat upset, and he felt the grin pressed into his robe disappear.

_Not enough, dearest one. Still not enough._

All his life, even as a ninja in Konoha, he had been trained to shun emotion. And if he wished it, if he had no choice but to push Sasuke to his limit so he could hate him with unquenchable finality, then he would.

"Do you really plan to kill me with a wanted man's curse and that copy-ninja's Raikiri wearing nothing but a towel?"

Something in Sasuke's eyes changed, and Itachi saw that the pride he'd put up with for twenty years of his life before he left, that unfaltering Uchiha dignity, still lived on inside his brother.

"Maybe I should. So that even the traitorous bastards you slink around with would shit blood before they ever thought about mentioning your name." came the younger boy's cold answer.

The genin genius wasn't certain.  
But beyond the thick darkness of the cylindrical collar that hid his brother's mouth, he could almost make out the play of a sardonic smile.

Just as suddenly it was gone.

"Could you really do it, Sasuke… Kill me…" Itachi's voice was soft, teasing, betraying the frozen stare of his eyes.

"You haven't been listening." Sasuke said between his teeth.

"Must I?... My greatness comes from these eyes, little brother…" Itachi blinked. And the three pin wheels began to move.

The young boy's body tensed and he pressed himself in a firm attack stance. Waiting as the chakra behind his temples gathered.  
His own blood-red eyes met his brother's unflinchingly, the black dots sweeping in endless circumference.

"I have no intentions of honing my ears. Though perhaps, dearest Sasuke… you should do just that."

"What does that-?"  
And before Sasuke could finish his question or fully comprehend his brother's warning, he saw the black shuriken-like formation inking into his brother's three-dotted Sharingan.

Mangekyou, just like all those years ago.  
Everything came slamming back to the young Uchiha.

"Shit, genjutsu!" he hissed, and his eyes snapped shut tightly.

Sasuke forced himself to stay that way.  
Terrified of the images he might see if he looked into the Sharingan.

He was grateful at least that raiding the family archive as a child had done him some good.  
How one acquired the Mangekyou was lost on him.  
But Sasuke was well aware, it was the highest form of the Sharingan capable of the most skilled forms of illusionary technique.  
Singled out in its own category, the Mangekyou could penetrate through anyone, as long as the person happened to be looking.  
Not even other Sharingan-users could get out of the genjutsu techniques it propagated.

His fists clenched and fear coursed through him, prickling at his nerves, taking his mind off the numbing pain of the seal.  
He remained crouched, unseeing.  
The backs of his feet pressing against wet blood.

"How long will you stay that way, Sasuke?"

The voice was far from him, but on his right now, even when Itachi had been lingering at the far left corner just moments ago.

Sasuke swore in his mind as he tried to quiet his breath and focus on the slightest sounds of his brother's motion.

_Goddamn fast like he'd always been._

His brain worked, yet he felt he didn't have many options.  
His movements were limited, his ears untrained for blind battle, no weapons were easily accessible near him.

_Look into his eyes, and you blow everything._  
_No choice. The cursed seal. The Chidori. Risk it. One fatal delivered blow to the heart, right when his face is next to me.  
And then I'll open my eyes, drive my arm deeper and watch his heart explode._

_He's not my brother.  
_

_I'll kill him.  
One shot.  
Do it._

The distended thoughts came, laced in a panic that tightened his chest.

_He didn't kill you last time.  
So why will he do it now?_

The afterthoughts were comfort. And though the young shinobi was uncertain whether Itachi would truly spare him this time, he ordered himself to believe the conclusion for the sake of that one shot.  
For the sake of his deliverance from the prison of his past.

_He loves it. Loves to see you struggle. Loves to torture you and see you suffering. That's how much he fucking hates you. You're weak. And that's how he toys with you._

He forgot all about the past few days.  
Forgot about Sakura, forgot about friendship.  
The one goal he'd convinced himself to work towards, his one and only purpose, all came rushing back to him.

"I want to prove my worth too…" Naruto had said in the forest. And that was why he loved that idiot so goddamn much. Naruto needed the recognition, needed proof that he was worth something. And in that way, the dimwit was just like him.

He needed the recognition too.  
He needed to prove his worth.  
Other people didn't matter to him. Their high praises, the grades on his report card.  
None of it mattered. Not when he couldn't convince himself.  
He couldn't see it.  
Couldn't see his own worth and didn't recognize his greatness.

Naruto was fulfilling his dream. Naruto was surpassing him because he was so much closer to that goal. Naruto knew he was great, bluffed about his superiority every damn day. And now he was starting to discover, other people thought it too.

It was time, Sasuke realized, for him to resume working on his own purpose.

"I didn't kill him…" The sudden deep voice filtered through him, and the young Uchiha abandoned all of it, the distracting thoughts.  
"…that decrepit corpse behind you."

Lines deepened between Sasuke's eyebrows as his frustration leapt and he fought to keep his eyes closed tight.  
Itachi's voice was drawing closer, and he felt the strangulation of alarm clutch at his throat again. His left arm reflexively stiffened.

"But someone who was with me did..."

The voice was on his left, perhaps a few feet away.

"Because he got in the way, Sasuke. Though, it doesn't really matter why, does it? We never needed much of a reason to kill."

_We? Who had been with him?_ Soft, frozen voice, much closer.

Sasuke's heart was pounding, and for a moment he thought the ragged thrash of his pulse would deafen him.  
The whole tirade was a pathetic one, and once again Sasuke realized the cruel repetitions of history.

His brother was still toying with him.

Whether he fed him an illusion that became his favorite, recurring nightmare, or teased him with his eyes closed. He was just as ridiculously helpless.

As weak as he had always been beside Itachi.

"Does an Uchiha rely on another's power? Tsk, tsk, Sasuke, if you didn't use that seal then maybe I would have made things a little less intimidating… I would have shown you a little more respect."  
It struck a cord deeply and Sasuke felt the collapse of his dignity.  
His clan name kicked in the mud along with the hopes that he could take his brother down.

"It was given to me. Part of me now. And if I have to use everything inside this body to send you to hell, then I will."

Sasuke didn't notice the slight rustle to his left as he spoke.  
But the prickling of nerves on his neck told him.  
And suddenly his oler brother's soft, low voice was trickling into his ear.

"Still doesn't matter."

With a startled cry that was half surprise and half hatred, Sasuke's palm erupted into flickering,blue lightning and he swept his arm out to the left.  
For a long time there was nothing but empty space.  
And then he felt the chakra against his fingers cut into something solid before the object gave way and collapsed heavily into the floor.

_Shit. The bookcase._

"Still not enough, Sasuke."

_Still not enough._

And Sasuke knew it was the truth. Staring into darkness and flickering glows of blue and white behind his eyelids, he heard the same question echo in his mind over and over until his mouth finally opened and he asked it.

"Why…why did you leave me alive?"

Itachi stood five feet in front of him, the markings of Mangekyou gone.  
His eyes swept over his little brother's features in a silent caress, and for a moment he wanted to tell him. Even if the answer would ruin everything he'd planned out for Sasuke.

The reason. Such a simple reason.

_Dearest, sweet Sasuke. _

_Little one, It's because I love you._

But he wouldn't.

The pain and frustration on his little brother's face, the rise and fall of his chest, beautifully tragic marks of darkness tapered along his torso, the way his lightning technique pushed against his fingers… Itachi seared it all into his soul.

He only wished he could look into those glowing, black eyes one last time so he could remember the warmth he had left behind.  
But Sasuke didn't trust him.  
The Mangekyou was gone, yet he did not know it.

His eyes were squeezed shut as if they would never open for him.

_One day, you will thank me._

Sasuke waited for his brother's answer.  
But the silence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity.  
And then he heard the voice again, softer, final.

"…Another time. Goodbye, Sasuke."

_No!_ His eyes flew open, darted left to right and found no signs of his brother.  
He glanced behind him and noted the body, saw the wooden planks of the bookcase seeping in blood.  
It was no dream.  
And then he heard the tinkle, faint from the side of the room, near the glass panes.

Sasuke clutched at his towel, knuckles white as he pushed his feet into a run.  
The balcony.  
His eyes swept across the railings, the lower roofs surrounding his apartment, the trees and the open area itself.

Nothing.  
As if his brother had never been there.

"Shit!" he shouted into the room, before the tremble of his legs took him and his knees hit the floor.

Bent over, clutching at the base of the t.v. table with one shaking hand, feeling the world around him plummet.

His body stung.  
His left arm and hand, glazed in cuts of various sizes from the Chidori, continued to grip hard to his towel as his back pressed dully into the wall.

"Shit." He repeated, nothing more than a breath now.

Hearing the retreat of his own voice.  
The silence of the room.

And then the nagging pain exemplified as Sasuke felt an invisible force digging into his neck, locking down on his muscles.  
He clenched his teeth, suppressing a low cry of pain, looked down at his arm, his wet stomach, and saw the curse marks sliding away, leaving his skin pale, his body shuddering from strain.

He finally gave in with a groan, recoiling in the abuse, pushing a hand firmly into the throbbing seal as if he could somehow calm it.  
His head remained bent, clumps of moist hair falling over his face.  
Panting.  
The air wasn't coming fast enough.

A minute passed, two.

Breathless, drenched in water and sweat, he forced his legs up, wincing at the fibers of towel biting into his open cuts.  
For a moment, the raven-haired boy wavered and then he pushed his teeth together and willed his legs to walk.

Walk to the bathroom to wear some decent clothing, walk or run if he could, to the restaurant in front of the sweets shop.

Sasuke wasn't certain where it was, but he would find it.

Find Kakashi.


	13. JOUNIN SAYS

CHAPTER 13: JOUNIN TO GENIN

He couldn't get it off his chest, the sudden weight that was pressing down on him, the spike of dread and the feeling that something just wasn't sitting well.

Kakashi always had the instinct for these things. Even all those years ago as a child, when he was no older than Sasuke and the rest of the genin team he now trained, his neck would prickle behind his tight black mask whenever he sensed it - the trouble rearing up from the particles in the air.  
Usually, the feeling was followed by a scream, a teammate falling to the ground, a shower of exploding kunai, village bandits, intolerable pain, death…

Whatever it was, it had never been just nothing.

The pads of his fingers pressed against the bark of the tree he was crouched in, waiting. And he cast a sweeping glance across the busy streets, searching for the familiar jet of blue-black hair.

But Sasuke wasn't anywhere nearby.

_Where was he?_, the feeling brushed at him dully, but still relentlessly.

He had to move.

Kakashi jumped, his body landing soundlessly on the sidewalk.

Behind him, a woman gave a startled cry. The sudden appearance of the shinobi's vest caused her arm to push up in surprise and the basket she had been holding, slipped from her fingers, flying into the air.  
The jounin's reflexes kicked in and he reached out, gracefully catching at the whicker handle before turning to her, an embarrassed, apologetic smile dominating his masked face.

"Sorry." He murmured, holding the basket out to her.  
His gray hair tumbled across his forehead protector, and the girl looked up at him.  
Even if appearances could be deceiving, Kakashi guessed the girl to be in her early twenties.  
Her hand clutched at the cherry pink Kimono folds to her chest as she shook her head, startled even as a flustered smile that mirrored the jounin's, came over her.  
"It's… no-…you scared me."

"Yes, it's either I surprise them or scare them…" he said in a mild tone, and then his gloved hand clutched at his nape, his eyes crinkled and he gave her a tilt of his head, "…again, my apologies."

The girl stepped back and bowed demurely in acceptance, her lips curling into a wider, less flustered and more forward smile. "Actually, I feel I should complement you, with quiet movement like that…"

Kakashi watched her eyes lift, and he noticed the strange shade of gray, starkly emphasized against her deep black hair. "…Konoha must be proud to have you as a ninja."  
The jounin did not thank her, but his eye curled delightfully. "Most people I scare have said worse…"

Then he slowly held out his hand in introduction.  
"…Hatake."

She gave a small smile and raised her chin as she reciprocated his handshake.  
"My name… is Yume."

Her tone was sharp, crisp, teasing and warm at the same time. Just as the name left her lips, the jounin felt the earlier dread tightening in his chest loosen, becoming paper-thin and then after another moment, disappearing completely.  
_What was that?_

Briefly he reminded himself about Sasuke, to check up on the boy just for his sake of calm, but the crystal voice broke into his thoughts temporarily.  
"Ah… Hatake. Well, startled… but nice to meet you." She laughed lightly and looked up at him.  
The jounin's eye flickered towards her basket and he slumped, one hand casually on his hip.  
"Fortunate, there's nothing in there."  
"Well, nothing yet… But today is my grandmother's birthday…" he looked down and she tugged once at her empty basket before her slim eyebrows quirked, "Happen to pass by any flower stalls?"

"Yamanaka's shop has the best flowers."  
That was the first line Kakashi had said that signaled the start of another twenty minutes of conversation.  
In fact, Yume did know about the Yamanaka clan and their affinity for flowers.  
A friend had worked part-time in the place and she often came to visit.

"But, you know…" the girl walked lightly, basket swinging with the shuffle of her feet, "Konoha isn't the richest village, and I struggle just like more than half the population. Flowers around the alleys are much cheaper."  
"You get them free in the forest." Kakashi said.  
Yume's willowy laughter mingled with the jounin's chuckle.

Somewhere far away, Sasuke pulled tightly at the white bandage around his finger while he elbowed the light switch. He darted past the door, unscathed hand pulling the knob shut behind him before he staggered into the hallway outside.

Then he forced a run, reached the stairwell and took the steps two at a time, ignoring the complaints of his body.  
He barely spared the empty fruit stall at the side of the street a glance.

Yume had bid a short farewell before finally venturing into the crowd and disappearing amidst the throng of bustling.  
After Kakashi had given her a final parting gesture, he walked towards the destined restaurant and settled his back over the wall, waiting for Sasuke.

Kakashi held the third Icha-Icha Paradise volume in between his thumb and index. The flimsy book twisted with the tugs of the autumn wind and he raised the paperback closer to read the last  
paragraph, even as his head thought about the younger Uchiha.  
A waitress wearing a blue and white, flower patterned kimono approached him, asking if he wanted a table.  
He shook his head, eye charmingly closed in that warm, friendly way that also ironically seemed to finalize any conversation. And the waitress gave him a timid smile back, before bowing and returning behind the curtains of the entrance.  
There was an occasional greeting from a retired ninja or two, some from former students in the academy, or their parents. Children brushed past his feet to run to the candy store in front of him.

And then he felt the familiar chakra, mingling with essence that was not supposed to be there.

Kakashi tilted his book sideways and the sight of a rumpled blue shirt, white shorts and a badly-wrapped tangle of bandaged arm greeted him from afar.

At once, the jounin remembered the pang of dread from minutes ago, but his mask remained unreadable as Sasuke approached.

His student's pacing slowed and Sasuke's face looked up into his, eyes flickering, weariness radiating from him even when the teacher saw, he was trying valiantly to look almost unaffected.

"Ah-", the jounin's eyebrow rose in greeting.  
"Long walk?"  
Sasuke ignored the attempt at humor.

"There is a body," he said stiffly, "-on my apartment floor."  
"A …body." Kakashi tucked the book into his vest pocket, the only sign of a change in emotion was the jerk of his eye.  
"The fruit-vendor on my street."  
The wizened teacher waited for the genin to say more. After all, he knew Sasuke, observed him long enough to know that the boy only provided clipped, one-word answers to direct questions. At his own pace, in his own time, his student eventually said more.

"Uchiha Itachi."

The way the boy said the name. It sounded resolute, coated in certainty. And Kakashi's face took on a grave seriousness, his chest stiffened, as his one eye watched Sasuke.  
"I saw him… after all these years…" The boy's voice was quiet, sounding absurdly nostalgic despite the loathing overtone.  
"He appeared in my apartment, Kakashi, in front of me. And I couldn't kill him. Couldn't even touch him."  
"…You used the seal."  
The boy's eyes flashed at Kakashi's rhetorical question and for a moment the jounin once again saw the hatred that worried him.  
"I wanted to kill him, Kakashi."  
"Orochimaru's chakra is all over you." the older shinobi said quietly before turning his face away from the genin. He placed a hand in his pocket and pushed off from the wall, for a moment his eyes scanned across the expanse of clear blue sky.  
The copy-ninja's mind was working, even if his expression remained as listless as ever.

_There should have been a dozen black hawks in the sky by now, had the godaime alerted none of Konoha's shinobi? Was she aware the wanted ninja was here? Itachi knew he would be returning to his death if he came back, yet he did - and had managed to mask his presence impressively._

The jounin took a moment to look down at Sasuke, who seemed to have his mind distractedly adrift somewhere else, and then he turned back to peer around the busy streets - so many people, a few ninjas… none of them agitated, all oblivious.

_How did he penetrate the hidden village gates without anyone noticing?_

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he looked down at his army-green shinobi vest.  
Undoubtedly, Uchiha Itachi was one of the better skilled ninja he had heard mentioned. Even now, he was so capable of nimbly moving about with the resident ANBU, him and the rest of Konoha's elite as well as the godaime not being able to pinpoint his presence.  
_He knows he's good enough to walk in here and get out without a scratch. But to what purpose, if he was indeed here?_

Sasuke wouldn't speak of something like this without being certain.  
And the jounin knew that his instincts were right, like they always were.  
It was a mistake to brush things off and he mentally swore never to let things slip again.  
It would have been different had he gone to wait outside the boy's apartment.  
Still, could he have done anything? Would he have caught Itachi in time?

"Sasuke."  
At the call of his name, the boy lifted his head. Stance more slumped and eyes looking more dead than usual.  
"I can't leave you by yourself. And my dogs have been sent on a mission with Kurenai, so come with me. We'll personally inform Hokage-sama about this.  
Also… I initially called you here for a reason, which surprisingly involves the same person. And... since we don't have time to sit, stare at red bean paste and chat, I'll just tell you on the way there. Agree?"

"Sure." The young Uchiha answered quietly.  
And Kakashi felt the protective urge to rest a firm, gloved hand over his shoulder.  
He still didn't know anything about what happened.  
But to have Sasuke show up looking like he did with his head down, nursing torn dignity.  
His body bruised, battered and exhausted, it was obvious that his painful past had pounced on him, and he had had trouble handling things.  
The jounin knew the pain, understood how distressing it could get.

The spiky, black head inches below his chin reminded him again and again about his obligation to the Uchiha. And even if he tried to keep the treatment between his three genin students leveled. The inclination to teach Sasuke never left his mind. He brushed the personal thought away, turning to the boy.  
"Let's go. Keep up with me." And with that, the jounin leapt up to a rooftop, waiting for his student to follow.  
He knew about Sasuke's pride, and even if the young genin's body had been through the sparring of the morning, and whatever chakra-draining events of the afternoon, his landing was swift and firm beside Kakashi.  
Despite the grim situation, the jounin suppressed a small smile under his mask and made sure to keep the pacing slow.

He did have much to tell the genin.


	14. WEAK

**Author's Notes:**

**Just basically a continuation of the last chapter. (DUHrm.) But its all build-up, nothing interesting... yet. :)) SAKURA!!!! WHERE ARE YOU!**

Disclaimer: Naruto is property of Kishimoto Masashi, Shueisha, and Studio Pierrot in Japan, and translated by VIZ Media and ShoPro Entertainment into English. No copyright infringement intended, these characters are not used to generate money, nor are they used with permission.

CHAPTER 15: WEAK

The trees weren't many along the streets of Konoha, and to cut around the twists and turns of alleyways for urgent business, the hokage had long ago allowed the shinobi to leap over rooftops if it meant cutting travel time in half.  
After leaping up to a particularly high penthouse, Kakashi looked down at his student crouching over the roof of the last building before he raised his gaze, an eye estimating the remaining distance.

He could see the rocky monument - the Hokage's mountain - framing the brown shingled roofs in front of him, and a little way in front of it, the headquarters of the godaime.

For some time now, Sasuke's speed had been rapidly declining.

Kakashi raised his arm, curling his fingers around the chain link fence surrounding the rooftop as the genin leapt up then hovered over the wires above the jounin's head, before touching lightly to the ground near his feet.  
Kakashi turned his face to him, "I asked you to meet with me Sasuke. And this is why: you do know that Uchiha Itachi is the missing-nin requested dead in my S-class mission…?"  
"Yes." Came the young Uchiha's faint answer.   
He hovered upright for the rush of a moment before one leg folded under him and he slumped into a dangling crouch.  
A full sprawl, if not for the jounin's hand now clutching his elbow.

Kakashi hummed in a sigh that was both worry and disapproval and Sasuke's bleak but stubborn dark gaze locked on him.

He had underestimated the state his student.

_Weaker than he let me on._  
"How long did you use the Sharingan with Itachi?"

Sasuke only continued to look at him then he turned his head away with a soft snort.  
"I'm fine. Just give me a minute."  
"You won't last two, judging from your current condition."  
Sasuke didn't try to prove him wrong and the jounin's face mellowed as he let go of the boy's elbow.  
The genin slipped into an exhausted slouch over the floor.  
Mutely, Kakashi looked down upon the bangs that fell against the angles of Sasuke's face, into his shadowed eyes, and after another moment the teacher settled into a squat beside his student's stretched-out leg.

The jounin's mind thought about the cursed seal, and its toll on the body.  
It had happened to Anko years ago, and Kakashi remembered how her body had locked down after the seal retreated, muscles refused to move, limbs temporarily paralyzed. The sandaime had watched over her for two days in the treatment room.

_If that happens, I'll have to carry him._

He knew that as long as Sasuke's eyes were open and he was conscious, the genin would never allow him to do it, refused to acknowledge he couldn't handle the situation.

_Stubborn,_ the jounin thought, _so much like his other teammate._

The former thought rushed back, and Kakashi turned his head.  
"I can no longer pursue Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke."

The young shinobi's eyes were slow in blinking, and Kakashi knew his chakra levels weren't faring well with the events.  
He would give him another minute to recover, with talking to pass the time.

"The mission, my mission… has been called off."

"What…?" Sasuke demanded, and despite the state of his slumped body, his eyes narrowed the way they always did, when Naruto's words pushed his patience or when careful planning fell apart.

"I never told you… and you never asked… But the reason why I've been looking for Itachi is because he was originally thought to be the murderer of a certain feudal lord's chief-general."

Sasuke said nothing, the expression on his face was unreadable, or perhaps his brother's behavior no longer came as a surprise and the inclination to react was gone.

"The village of rain came to Konoha with the request for an S-class mission to kill your brother, Sasuke. Just to be sure, the Hokage sent ANBU to further investigate the murder. But the need to find Itachi as soon as possible was also the objective, so I was sent to hunt for him."

"Why-"

The jounin looked at the young Uchiha, who, surprisingly, was already struggling to get up.

"… Why was it called off?"  
Sasuke grunted as the muscle in his left leg clenched, and he looked up to find Kakashi holding out one gloved hand. The genin grabbed it firmly and his teacher pulled him up.

"Can you make it?"

Sasuke ignored the question and pressed his own insistently. "Why was the mission called off??"

The jounin looked into Sasuke's hardened stare and his hand landed on the boy's shoulder.

"Because… the murderer was not him."

For a while, Sasuke said nothing. Without Kakashi, without information on his murderer-brother, it would be more difficult to keep track of him.

The raven-haired genin could feel the incessant rustle of the wind tearing at his wide collar and all the coming questions died in his throat.

He didn't feel the need to ask anymore. It didn't matter. Perhaps, he didn't even want to know the answer.  
The warmth of Kakashi's hand left his shoulder and Sasuke tipped his chin down, cold sweat snaking down his jaw, unnoticed.

Unnatural. How warm his body felt now.  
He shut his eyes, the blood behind his temples pounding so much that it took effort to lift his head.

It was difficult trying to keep a steady focus on the jounin's face, or on anything else for that matter.  
Sasuke realized he couldn't.  
The world was starting to spin and he looked up at the sky, the bluish glare of it spreading like a bright blanket over his eyes, the clouds were still floating in front of his eyes when he looked down at the floor.

The genin knew something was wrong and he closed his eyes tightly, seeing the images swirling from behind his eyelids.

The jounin had glimpsed it, the foggy tint of red swirling within his student's coal black eyes before they fell shut, dark lashes lowering and wedging tightly to pale skin.  
He knew the Sharingan's untimely appearance came from the demand of the seal on the genin's body. His chakra must be fluctuating dangerously.

Sasuke's head felt light - perhaps heavy - he couldn't distinguish the difference anymore.

And then the strength left him, pulling down the rest of his body.  
Sasuke fell forward, feeling his legs in paralysis, the motion indescribably slow in his mind...  
The ground was rushing up… and the genin heard the urgent shout of his name.

_Kakashi,_ the genin identified fuzzily.

A pair of arms closed around his torso and Sasuke felt the numb knock of his elbow against his teacher's vest.

The genin's mouth parted as he felt his back being held securely into the body behind him.

"No." the whispered word came out in a rush of breath and for a moment he opened his heavy eyes and saw concrete floor before it started to blur dizzily and fade to black.

Then the sounds were gone and everything was quiet.


	15. DARK CALLING?

**One thing I request for is patience. It makes the reward all the more sweet. :)**

**When Sakura does finally show up it'll be good, I promise. :P**

**bows and grins thank you so much for the support! It means loads to me. The comments and criticisms are as welcome as always.**

CHAPTER 15: HAUNT ME

"Forget it!" The stubborn ninja crossed his arms, put a leg atop one knee and turned his head sideways in a shake of bright blonde hair.  
"Naruto, no ninja ever refuses to do the simpler missions. No one except you!"

"But, Ba-chan… I want something exciting! You never give me the good ones and I'm not interested in rice fields or horses. And I hate cleaning… It's boring!"

"Well," the godaime leaned back into her chair and her chin tilted up in authority, "those are my orders and you will follow them."

Naruto grunted, a frown that seemed large for the size of his face furrowing at his bottom lip.

There was that intrepid staring contest again.  
The blonde's squinted fox-eyes matching up wordlessly with the Hokage's golden irises.  
And then a sound like a cork being popped exploded at the genin's side. And Naruto broke the contact with a yelp, his body jerking sideways as a circular whirl of smoke rose from the ground.  
The blue eyes looked up and met with the startling appearance of an army-green jounin's vest.

"Hokage-sama…" came the low voice.

It was Kotetsu - the shinobi Naruto had seen at Ichiraku - with the white strip of bandage around the bridge of his nose, bowing slightly, a brown shower of hair coming across his eyes.

"Hatake Kakashi wishes to speak urgently with you."

"Yes, yes…" the Hokage's eyes closed and she waved impatiently, the corner of her mouth drawing downwards. "Let him in."

Kotetsu gave a grave nod and disappeared in another puff of smoke.  
After a few moments the door opened, followed by a screech from the orange-clad genin as  
Kakashi entered into the room with a pale arm and sharp raven locks creeping over his neck.

"Hokage-sama." The jounin murmured with a bow, Tsunade's mouth parted at the sight of Uchiha Sasuke slumped over his shoulder. And a feeling of dread came over her as the waves of disturbing chakra nipped at her skin.

"Kakashi? What happened?"

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried at about the same time and Tsunade rose from her chair impatiently, walking over to the genin and giving him a few distracted nudges to the back, urging him out of the chair.

The orange-clad ninja leapt up from the seat, eyes wide with something close to panic.

"You can go." The Hokage said before proceeding to push the genin towards the direction of the door.

"W-What about Sasuke-" Naruto asked, turning his head back, blue eyes frantically scanning the jounin's face. Kakashi looked somberly at his student.  
He said nothing.

"What hap-"  
"-Naruto," Tsunade's controlled voice cut him off and she looked down at the agitated genin, "I would like to speak privately with your teacher."

The boy's fists swung against his side as he turned to Tsunade, his blonde hair bristling.  
A flash of the boy's prominent canines appeared as he started shouting.  
"Sasuke is my teammate too! I want to know what's goi-"  
"Naruto, please…" came the jounin's strained voice.

Something in his tone made the genin close his mouth despite the sudden chills of trepidation creeping up his neck.  
His eyes dimmed and the teal-blue irises swept over Sasuke's pale face.  
His teammate's eyebrows were furrowed deeply, his mouth drawn in a tight frown, even in sleep.  
_What or who… and how?_

There were too many questions, the blonde ninja didn't like how it was twisting his stomach into tight knots.  
Muttering something obscene, Naruto lowered his head, clenched his fists and finally walked the rest of the way out into the hallway.  
Behind him, the doorway gave a heavy groan and closed with a solid thud.

"That brat has no manners and I expect you to start teaching him, Kakashi."  
"Hai, hokage-sama." The jounin murmured, eyeing the door and then turning back to her.

The Hokage's eyebrows were drawn together and her long blonde pig-tails hung across the bumps of her shoulders as she tilted her head low, golden eyes studying the unconscious genin.

"Alright," Tsunade said, her voice low. She gestured to a small futon behind her desk and looked at the young jounin's heavy eye, "place the boy there and you can tell me everything while I check the seal."  
"Ah, about that-" the jounin started to say;  
"I know it-" Tsunade interrupted him quietly.  
"I know it when I feel it."

Kakashi adjusted Sasuke over his shoulder when the Hokage's slim fingers touched lightly at the metal of the genin's forehead protector.  
Silently, she cleared the damp strands of raven hair away from the engraved symbol in the middle before looking at the pale face, the worried brow, dark eyelashes, down turned mouth… and then her eyes closed, creases digging between her eyebrows as she signaled again at the futon.

Sasuke couldn't feel his body being lowered onto the floor, wasn't aware Kakashi had loosened the knot of his protector and taken it off his forehead...  
His consciousness lay somewhere else, somewhere deep in his mind, he was a little boy again.  
Terrified, running across the distorted-looking streets of the Uchiha compound, everything was swaying but his feet pounded solidly into the ground.  
Darkness grabbed at his legs as he struggled to get away from it. But he wasn't getting anywhere.  
Several times he tried to cry out, but the voice only died in his throat.

The Hokage stretched a hand out towards the genin and a sharp glow of chakra erupted in a swirl of green along the surface of her palm and fingers.  
Tsunade swept a steady line from his head down to his knees, lingering over a series of small cuts on the boy's left calf. Her eyes lifted to Sasuke's face as he gave a small groan, eyebrows joining in an expression of agony, mouth drawing back in a flash of clenched teeth.

She pressed a hand to his sweat-drenched forehead and felt the flare of high fever burning under the skin.  
The Hokage swore under her breath, and she thought she saw Kakashi's eye widen slightly at the obscenity.

Sasuke's body was trembling and the jounin directed his attention down to where the boy's hands were pressed against his sides, Kakashi watched as the stiffened palms balled into fists, fingers biting into the corners of his blue shirt.

Kakashi didn't know what made him look away.  
He focused, instead at Tsunade's intensely concentrated gaze.

"Sasuke was in an encounter with Itachi."

The Hokage flinched, as if a fast-moving hand had suddenly stopped inches from her face. But her voice was firm and controlled as she briefly eyed him.  
"The wanted ninja is in the village?"  
"Afraid so, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said, before his eye lifted in quiet anger.  
"And that is not all…"

"What!" Tsunade's voice erupted into the room.  
If the jounin was rattled at the sudden burst of hostile chakra dominating the woman beside him, his face gave away nothing.

"The body belongs to a fruit vendor…" he continued, "-it is still there… in the boy's apartment."

"Call ANBU." Tsunade snapped, "Three troops.  
Send one to investigate the body in the apartment, and two to search out Konoha."  
The green waves of chakra slowly disappeared from her outstretched hand, and Tsunade pulled at the emerald sleeves of her robe as she worked to flex her stiffened arm.  
Giving Sasuke one last glance, she gave a grunt and rose from the floor, her heels clicking against the wooden floors, stepping past piles of books and lines of scrolls, and finally stopping over the grand, furnished mahogany desk.

"Yes." Kakashi whispered before he also rose from his crouched position close to the genin.  
The Hokage didn't bother to sit in her chair. Instead, she quickly reached into an already opened drawer and withdrew a small scroll.  
Stretching out the thick bumpy paper, Tsunade positioned her hands in concentration, and then, her fingers wove into a graceful break-down of numerous complex hand seals. She pushed her palm into the paper and released a flowing line of red markings that emerged from under her hand.  
The words wove up and down over the bumps of the parchment before finally embedding into the surface and turning into a solid lash of black at the bottom of the scroll — It was the Hokage's official mark of approval.

A Chinese brush now darted across the surface, a whirling scribble of quick words, as the Hokage proceeded to talk.  
"Kakashi, you are former ANBU, and you know the protocol. I want you with them. If you find the man, bring him back, dead or alive."

The brush came down over the table with a clack for emphasis and Kakashi watched as the blonde woman tugged on the scroll's string, sending the paper back into its original curl.  
Her red-painted fingernails skimmed across the parchment, sealing it with chakra.  
The string was tied, and with a resolute tap of the paper over the table she held the folded instructions out to Kakashi.  
The jounin took the scroll and pushed it into his weapon holster.

"Give that to the three teams before you all separate. I'm counting on you."  
The Hokage looked at Kakashi as he gave one solid nod, before pushing away from the table.

She turned her back to the jounin and sighed as her face lowered. Her gaze observed the sleeping genin.  
Sasuke's trembling had gone and so also was the pained expression dominating his face moments ago.  
Tsunade crossed her arms, fighting off the chills that Orochimaru's chakra still gave her. She ignored the uncomfortable feelings and focused instead on talking.

"I will manage the seal just to make sure Sasuke's body doesn't suffer permanent damage…"

Her golden-flecked eyes met the jounin's seemingly passive gaze.  
Her look was filled with remorse.

"Though I fear, the mark might have already done something irreversible." She finally said.

Kakashi closed his eyes, before lifting his head to give Sasuke one last look.  
"Try not to worry… I'll restore him to the best of my abilities." The Hokage's smile was tight, almost forced, but Kakashi felt it was a genuine promise.  
And in another moment he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

There was a red sky above him.  
Its presence was a dead weight that seemed to ride the tops of his shoulders, press along his spine with pressure, cut off his breath.  
He forced gulps of air into his lungs, but the weight around him only squeezed back, pumped the ample breaths from his chest, out of his open mouth.  
He gagged. And felt his knees collapse into a ground that felt strangely, like it wasn't there.  
Sasuke was scared.  
Terrified of whatever it was happening to his body.  
He forced his eyes to look forward, and his vision took in the cracked earth, the small pebbles that lay ahead. He could see the moist strands of his bangs trembling, close to his nose.  
And then, his nerves prickled in warning.

Before he knew it, he felt tight limbs winding around his torso, pressing into his stomach, pulling at him. Dragging him backwards.  
_No!_ He tried to shout out. His hands balled into fists as he willed the energy to mount inside him, and he kicked out with his legs, fighting against the force. But his sandals anchored into the soil only for a moment before he was tugged backwards again.  
Now he wanted to close his eyes badly.  
They grew heavier and heavier with each moment and he was tired - so very tired of fighting, of struggling, of living.  
_Let's end it.  
Just end it all. Take it all away._

There was a soft chuckling, raspy, cold, emotionless.  
It came from all around him. And Sasuke knew immediately who it was.  
The sound was only so very familiar. The iciness of it trickled up the back of his neck, bunched into his left shoulder, gathered there, at the place he knew he'd abused, and dug in.

The pain came. Blinding, sharp, too much all at once and Sasuke lost all sense of thought as it paralyzed him.

Was it him crying out now? Was that his voice? He didn't know anymore.

The darkness was closing in. Clouds of swirling black, spiked in a temperature that froze his bones.  
Maybe stopped his heart.  
And he cried out, the force of it scratching into his throat.  
Felt the sting of warm tears brimming in his eyes.  
This pain was too much.

_End it!_ He shouted in his mind.  
_Just let me die. I...just can't stand-_

The chuckling cut his thoughts off, grew louder, taunting him, mocking him.  
And through the hazy cloud of his vision he saw them.  
The eyes — eerily yellow, with slit black pupils that were sharp, piercing into his soul.

Then the voice came - that unique, calm, grinding whisper that made him shake.

"This is power. This is what you seek."

"Orochimaru…" he heard himself rasp, surprised he could even remember the name amidst the mind-blowing pain hacking at his every limb.

"Sasuke-…kun. Come to me."  
The charm of that entrancing, yet heartless voice scraped like the tips of cold, sharp nails along his arms.  
The blackness wove in and out of him, and he drifted, slipping towards and away from consciousness.

"Wh…at…" he whispered weakly, and the last of the word erupted in a throaty retort as the pain exemplified even more.  
Impossible.

His head hit the ground, and this time he could feel it. Solid.  
But the thud of his head was numb compared to the knives that ground into his nerves and muscles.

"Sasuke-kun. Come." The same voice murmured, almost delightfully. Taking pleasure in the way the boy lay sprawled on the ground, writhing only slightly, half-past-dead.

"Just kill me." He muttered bitterly, not bothering to move - swallowing the scratchy burn in his throat.

"Sasuke-kun… Sasuke-kun…" the voice repeatedly slurred, echoed.

And then force shook at his shoulders. Shook him till his head lifted from the ground.

"Sasuke…" that voice was fading.

He didn't bother answering.  
This quiet calm surrounding him, he could feel nothing, see nothing, but it felt wonderful.

A part of him knew it was death. Just subconsciously already knew.

But the force continued to grip at his shoulders.

"Sasuke!"  
Still there. The voice.  
"Oi! Sasuke!"

His thought processes were muddled, but he knew that voice.

Then he felt tingling all over his body, and the sense of being able to feel returned, bleeding into him like a dead-weight coat.

"Saaaassukeeee!"  
The same voice was ringing in his ears, and he had the urge to do something.  
Something important.  
But his mind was blank. And he was slipping away again.  
The numbness was starting to come.  
Again.

"Breathe!"  
Something hard smashed into his chest, and the impact caused him to recoil with a slight choke. His head arched back and his mouth parted in a sharp intake of needed breath.  
So suddenly the rush of life came back and filled him, he gasped again, panted, heavy and audible. His heart thumping loud, alive in his ribs and in his ears.  
The blood coursed through his veins, and he felt the consciousness descending around him, muddled, together with the thumps of a headache.

His shoulders were moving again.  
Hands. Sasuke immediately knew.

A pair of hands were shaking him.

"Sasuke! Goddamn it, wake up!"

The sound jerked his eyes open, a blur of yellow hair, orange clothes… bright lights…  
and Sasuke found himself dizzily trying to focus into wide oceans of blue and a glistening black center.

"Na…ruto." He whispered breathlessly.

"Sasuke!" the face was still a blur, but the dazed boy focused on the whiskered marks stretching across Naruto's cheeks.  
How odd those marks appeared now, he thought.  
Like scars, like his scar.  
The one Itachi had given him on his shoulder that night of the murder. Only Naruto's seemed so evenly spaced, so etched in, zigzagging like chidori along skin.  
Sasuke watched the marks moving as his blonde teammate continued to shout.

"You're a bastard! If I didn't come in here, it w-"

The fox ninja's scolding was cut short abruptly as a strong hand yanked his collar up.  
Naruto dropped his teammate as the Hokage dangled him and the Uchiha collapsed back to the futon.  
Groaning, the Uchiha put a hand to his pulsing shoulder blade, waiting for the room to slowly come into focus as he tested his weight on one elbow.

Glancing sideways, he saw the hovering form of the Hokage, holding Naruto above the floor as easily as one would clothes on a hanger.

Her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Uzumaki Naruto, If you ever barge in here like that again, I swear I'm sending you back to the academy!"

"B-but! He stopped breathing!" the blonde ninja cried, as he struggled against the Hokage's vice-like grip.

"I know that." Tsunade snapped, dropping the boy roughly a meter away from where Sasuke was lying.

"And I would have done something less violent to get him to start breathing again. Now stay back."

Sasuke's chest ached dully. It was incomparable to his pain only moments ago, and the boy soon brushed it aside as the thoughts tumbled into his mind.

"Itachi..." the raven-haired boy said hoarsely. "He's here."

"Yes, I am aware of that." The hokage said, before shooting Naruto one last threatening look that sent the boy crossing his arms.

Sasuke watched as the blonde Hokage knelt in front of him in a mountain of green robe.  
She touched his left shoulder, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.  
Her voice came, low and quiet. "You are suffering from the effects of the seal because, as you might know, it is not a stable curse."

Her eyes opened and she looked down at him, eyebrows furrowed.  
"Sasuke, for this kage's sake, stop using it. I saved you this time, but there might not be another!"

"Using what?" came Naruto's probing voice from the corner of the room.  
Sasuke closed his eyes and looked away, and after a short silence the Hokage rose.

"Rest, Sasuke. Don't move around and try to sleep. If you're lucky, you will be able to start walking tomorrow."

The blonde was fussing again, Sasuke thought blearily.

Naruto's words blended into the varying pitches of his whining voice until the Uchiha understood nothing.

His eyes felt like dead weight and after another minute, his chest rose and fell evenly with the arrival of deep slumber.


	16. CLEANING UP

**THANK YOU! To the especially patient people. Love you all for reading this far… I'm so happy people take the time to say something. **

**Well… after this it'll be ALL good. :))))**

CHAPTER 16: CLEANING UP

Sasuke stepped out of the Hokage's office, the very next morning escorted by Kakashi sensei and a medical ninja.

"Mah," the pepper-haired jounin pushed a gloved hand through the front of his vest, "your recovery is surprisingly swift as always."

Beside Sasuke was the medical-ninja with her fingers pressed to his wrist, and eyes glued to her light blue watch, timing his pulse-rate.

"Stabilized." She declared after a moment, "You're good to go."  
She gave the disheveled-looking genin a slight smile, and then exchanged nods with Kakashi.  
Sasuke waited for her to take her hand away before he sullenly buried his own into his shorts pocket.

Kakashi, Sasuke an ANBU captain and two medics had taken the body of the unfortunate fruit-vendor from the apartment. The man had no family and Sasuke, after years of buying fruit from him, still didn't know his name, never bothered to ask.  
His body was now buried in the nameless cemetery just outside Konoha's border.  
Somewhere west into the forest, off in a humble clearing surrounded by yellow-flowering bushes and thick vines.

During chosen hours of the day, the sun would break through the thick tree branches over the area, and shine mutely over the simply-marked graves.  
The twitters of small birds, the rustling wind and the soft gush of water from the brook next to the clearing were the only sounds that ever drifted over the burial grounds.  
It was peaceful and unnoticeable, much like the lives of most of the village-folk lain to rest there.

Kakashi and Sasuke were left to clean the pools of caked blood over the lower portions of the bathroom walls and on the wooden floor.

In silence they scrubbed at the floors, dragging the bamboo pail closer to their crouched forms as the smell of rusting metal, soap and lemon disinfectant surrounded them.

Once, Kakashi had tossed down his sponge, sighing from weariness, boredom, lament… no one would really be able to tell.  
The jounin leaned back against the small cabinet next to the apartment door and bowed his head, arms braced over his pulled-up knees.  
His eye closed, to sleep or to think, yet again one couldn't be certain.

Twice, Sasuke had abruptly stopped and gotten up from the floor, wordlessly making his way to the bathroom.

The door would close with a quiet click and Kakashi would scrub for a moment in silence, before sounds of the genin retching behind the door stopped him from cleaning.  
A minute would pass before the jounin heard the water sloshing with the chugging flush of the toilet bowl, and Sasuke would step out, bandaged arm pressed to his mouth, short black bangs damp against his forehead, his face glistening with small droplets of water as he looked down at his teacher.

"Sasuke…" the jounin's eye would soften.  
But his gaze was always met with a steady, hard one.

"The smell makes me sick."

Then with a nudge of the genin's toe to the bucket, they would resume the incessant scrubbing.

Kakashi felt sorry for the man who had died.  
He had probably been rinsing his fruits, or dusting his stall, maybe lying behind the booth pressed into the wall with a straw hat to his face, sleeping.  
Dreaming listlessly, or perhaps peacefully listening to the chirping of birds before his murderer had taken him.

Clearly, when the Akatsuki was involved, there was never a telling time or place, or victim. But death was almost always the final blow.

The jounin's chest squeezed tightly at the thought of his student, alone.  
He had faced the nightmares of his past suddenly resuscitated, alive and vivid in front of him.  
Right then, it had been nothing thicker than a cord holding the young genin from death.  
At any time, his brother could have killed him.

It was indecent, how Itachi loved playing with a victim, teasing and dancing around the idea of striking blood. Leaving one to think he had escaped with his life only to come and come again, until the victim was driven mad.

Now there was a dead body.  
A reminder of just how insignificant sparing lives were to the Akatsuki.  
And once again, Sasuke was left to deal with the mess.

No wonder the boy wanted to kill Itachi so badly.  
It wasn't just for the justice, or the pride, it was for inner peace as well.

"I've booked you a place not far from here. Just in case you have to come back for certain things."

Kakashi watched Sasuke's back, before the genin slowly turned his face to him.

"You didn't have to. We have a mission in two days anyway, and it's not like he's coming back to my apartment anytime soon."

The jounin didn't miss the fleeting look of helplessness and anger pass Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke, I only have one eye covered, I'm not blind. In fact, I can see right through you. You're not sleeping here tonight, tomorrow or for the rest of the week for that matter."

It was that look of intolerance and aggravation again, rolling off the genin in heated waves as he looked at Kakashi.

"We both know you don't want to be here." The jounin answered, evenly looking at him before tossing his sponge into the bucket beside Sasuke.  
It landed lightly over the water and the raven-haired boy's eyes lingered over his teacher's face a moment longer, before he stood.

"Fine. I'll get packing."

"Yes, you will."

Sasuke snorted and padded off down the hallway, Kakashi threw a lazy smile at the boy's back in return.

As expected Itachi had disappeared once the Hokage had sent out the ninja troops to survey the village.  
Not a trace of him or any other possible Akatsuki member.  
"Ah, shit Hatake… They're clean - those bastards -" the foul-mouthed ANBU captain didn't bother taking off his whiskered, tiger mask as he spoke, and his tattooed arm rippled as he reached up to brush at spiky strands of brown hair, "if the body didn't have the slice of a Katana across his neck, this kid of yours might have been brought in for interrogation."  
"Well, Keska," The gray-haired jounin put a lazy hand to his peppered-hair and his face tilted forward as his eye curled into a half-moon,  
"if any of your three teams manage to find them… Give my thanks... And don't cut down on the enthusiasm."  
Kakashi's smiling expression and disinterested tone betrayed the frightening meaning of his words -  
"Alright, let's be shithard-happy." Keska smirked beneath his mask.

Sasuke watched from beside Kakashi as the lithe-looking ANBU captain put one hand to his waist, and swung another over a thick post.  
One leg braced over the grills of the railing that framed the view of neighboring rooftops.

"Movin' along, copy-boy…" Keska said, "-Don't stress or fret. I'll make sure we get on their trail. You know how it is, they're bound to fuck up even once, and that, copy-boy, will be enough-"

A medic turned to the captain, signaling that they were taking the body away and Sasuke watched the painted tiger mask give a firm nod before the ANBU captain turned to face him.

The tone of the man's voice changed, coming out gruff and more muffled as he said the genin's name,

"Uchiha, Sasuke…"

The raven-haired boy thought that if his blonde teammate would ever make it to ANBU – if – then, he'd very much resemble this particular man. His stature, the slim formation of his limbs, even the way he gestured so casually, with that same disregard for any kind of formality. Most of all Sasuke noted, they shared the same straightforward rudeness.

The captain looked down at him mutely, before speaking again in that same low voice.

"I knew your brother. On the field, he was a killing machine. One, two, three, even ten, he'd take out every shit-kind of weapon strapped to him. Never. Mercy was just never an issue with that man! Not even when it was supposed to be … – that- !" Keska's voice scratched and he threw his hand out… "anesthetized, psychotic son-ofa…"

Sasuke saw Kakashi give the captain a brief look, and the man took it as a sign.  
He expelled a long breath before finishing the sentence and slipped his foot off the railing.

"Yeah. Jia- take care of yourself, kid."

And the genin could tell that the man meant it, wished it for him and warned him.  
The captain gave another nod at Kakashi, who raised a gloved hand in return and with a tip of his holstered sword and a hand seal the captain had gone.

Kakashi's gray haired rustled with the sudden depart, and Sasuke watched the twirl of leaves and dust dancing along the spot where Keska had disappeared, wondering if it was he or Naruto who would reach ANBU first.

After another three hours, Sasuke's sponge grazed laboriously into the last patch of blood near a crack in the floor and the foot of the kitchen counter, his eyebrows stitched together and his jaws were clenched tightly as he worked.  
Gradually, the stain disappeared into dampness and he let the sponge drag over the spot one last time, before pressing down on his palms and closing his eyes.

The weight of a hand rested over his shoulder, and he raised his head, eyes now looking straight into the red hard-bound cover of an Icha-Icha paradise's Volume III.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed some more before he saw the book being lifted away, and Kakashi's masked face looking down at him with a crinkled eye.

"Come on, we're done. Let's move your things out of here."

The building was a small one, no larger than Sasuke's apartment.  
A wooden signboard hammered into the roof with roughly painted letterings in bright orange and lime green was the only thing that stood out amidst its shambled form.

Sasuke slung his backpack higher to his shoulder and looked into the small entry-way.  
His fists clutched at his apartment keys before he stuffed them into his shorts pocket and walked towards the rickety reception table.  
The air inside the inn was dank, and smelled a bit of layered dust, ancient upholstery and rain-drenched wood. It reminded Sasuke a lot of the small cabin he had stayed in during team seven's mission at the hidden village of mist.  
Once again he thought back to Haku and his grave on the cliff overlooking the water.  
The sea water, the orange and pink hues of the sky… It was one of few sunsets the Uchiha had ever noticed in his life.  
Behind him, Kakashi carried a paper bag, much like he would grocery.  
In it were cups of instant noodles, fish crackers, powdered tea and an assortment of scrolls needed for the next two missions.

The raven-haired boy's footsteps were light, soundless as he came up to the table and he paused, watching the oblivious woman behind the reception jotting down hurried notes on pieces of paper, before she stuck them to a small corkboard behind the desk.

"They serve limitless green tea." Kakashi said, winking down at Sasuke.

The woman's head jerked up at the sound of the jounin's voice, and the back of a hand brushed against her forehead where a stray strand threatened into her eyes.  
"Oh, sorry. What can I do for you?"

"Reserved room…" the young genin said, "Uchiha."

"Oh yes."

Sasuke looked into the woman's smiling face, before she shuffled across the counter towards a cabinet on the wall.  
Her fingers skimmed over a row of keys before she wrapped her fingers around a set and raised them off the cabinet hook.

"Uchiha," she murmured, and her eyes caught his obsidian ones in a warm smile before she slipped the keys into Sasuke's open hand and gestured with a thumb at the stairway to the right.

"B-4, second floor. It's the third door to the right." She leaned against the side of the small counter's back wall and wrapped her arms to her chest.

"How much?" Sasuke reached into his back pocket to retract his wallet.

"Already paid for." The woman answered, giving the pepper-haired jounin a brief meaningful look.

Sasuke's hand hovered midway to his shorts and he cast a sideways glance at Kakashi.  
The teacher looked into the young genin's furrowed eyebrows and smiled behind his mask.

"You didn't have to do it." Obsidian eyes narrowed, though Kakashi glimpsed the boy's arm lowering to his side.

"I never thought of it as something I HAD to do." Kakashi quietly pointed out. "I wanted to."

Just as suddenly Sasuke felt the paper bag hit him on the chest.

"After you're settled in, give yourself about 2 hours to rest. And then go to the usual sparring grounds. I've called a meeting with Naruto and Sakura to discuss the mission…"  
The jounin's finger tapped lightly at the paper bag and the younger boy's eyes looked down into the contents.

"There's food, and something more important. Read those."

And then with a dismissive wave of his hand he turned around and began walking away towards the small entrance.

Sasuke turned the other way after watching his teacher's back disappear. His eyes blinked up into the darkness of the stairway, and with a start he was climbing.


	17. FINALLY

**YAY! To those of you who haven't given up on the story.. har-hars … this is where I bring in the good stuff. Thank you thank you to those who remain faithful and to those who comment.**

**hands out Sasuke Plushies.**

CHAPTER 17: BREATHE

"Uchiha? Uchiha Sasuke…? Is he-"

Sakura motioned with a hand in the direction of the dark stairwell and then glanced undecidedly at the lady behind the reception table.

"Yes, yes… the young boy… only a little taller than you - with black hair…? The older woman asked confirmatively.

"Yes. That's him." Sakura answered hurriedly.  
"Please, tell me. Which room is he-"  
"That boy, he checked in just about ten minutes ago…" the lady behind the counter proceeded to say, oblivious to the fact the girl in front of her was already shifting weight from one foot to another.

"…Which room?" Sakura pressed direly.

The tone of her voice caused the woman behind the table to look at her worriedly.  
After a moment, she spoke, "Room B-4, up the stairs-"

"Thank you." The pink-haired shinobi said, giving a brief courteous bow and slipping past the table despite the landlady's unfinished instructions.

_Oh gods, why did that man have to come back? Why now? What was he doing here?_

Sakura had too many questions. She didn't yet know exactly why the Hokage had told her about it, except that it was "only right."

The rest of Konoha didn't know, and even after the hunt for the missing-ninja had ceased, nobody except the dispatched ANBU teams and the involved people were aware:  
Someone very dangerous had just taken a stroll around his home village

_and put Sasuke in a life-threatening situation._

The girl told herself she had to stop crying so much, but no matter how many times she tried to banish the brimming of tears, it was difficult. After all, it had always been a part of her, to take away the pain she felt with a little weeping.

Sakura's hand swiped across one cheek where dampness had settled, and a fist bunched tensely into the front of her dress' open collar, clutching at the invisible pain of wanting to get to where he was.

Sasuke.

The floorboards underneath her sandals creaked as she walked the middle of the dark hallway, mint-green eyes flicking from one door to another.  
B-4. She stood mutely in front of it, thinking of nothing and no one but the presence behind the wooden barrier.

_What is he doing? It's too quiet. What is he feeling? Is he thinking of him? …Has he thought of me?_

The sound of a small chime jolted her, before she realized her own hand had lifted and pushed at the doorbell. And suddenly the breath left her chest in a sudden state of panic she couldn't understand. Horrified thoughts struck her just as abruptly and she took a small step back as she eyed the metal-plated letter-dash-number on the door.

_Why am I here? Why am I so- so desperate? - But I want to know if he's okay! I want to see him so badly… I-_  
"Sakura?"  
She almost gasped out loud at the very familiar, yet somehow misplaced tone of voice. And her emerald eyes met his confused obsidian ones.  
The girl shinobi felt it then, as no other cliche could have put it more perfectly: her heart exploding with happiness.

"What…" Sasuke started, and he opened the door wider, opting to take a step out into the hall. But the motion was cut-short when she cried out softly and leapt at him, open arms cascading over his shoulders, forcibly knocking him with a stumble backwards into the room.

"S-!", A sound that could have been anything escaped his lips.

Sasuke's eyes were wide in astonishment more than amusement, and backing up another step his feet finally settled firmly on the floorboards with the tips of Sakura's sandals touching his.

Her body pressed to his in a wholehearted hug that tangled limb with limb.  
Passing seconds came in silence - with nothing but the sound of wood creaking underneath their weight.

It was too confusing, Sasuke opened his mouth slightly to speak, but the words died when he heard her deep, contented sigh against the hollow of his shoulder.

Strange as it may seem, the raven-haired boy could feel her lips molding into a small smile as they pressed against the fabric of his shirt.

His eyes looked down at the caught strands of his hair mingling in her pink locks and he tilted back shaking his dark, black bangs loose from hers.

So close. Again.

Only then did he notice the thrum of his heartbeat, thudding incessant against his ribcage.  
Suddenly he wanted to pull away, indignant with the fact that she might know how deeply her presence affected him.  
It wasn't the first time.

"You're fine. Thank god, you look okay. I was so worried."  
A warm thrilling sensation crept up his stomach at the warmth of her breath, and the words being whispered.  
_What._ Sasuke's eyebrows drew together,  
_Worried?_ the young boy thought, glancing at her.

"What have you heard?" he asked, almost casually and she pulled back one arm, directing a gaze at him.

"The Oji… dead in your apartment…" she whispered. The greens of her eyes flickered downwards before she continued. "And…"

His gaze flew to her, sharp. And his lips barely parted as he darkly repeated, "…and?"

Sakura bit her lip, at the same time pushing away from him and looking out at the only small, rectangular glass window in the room.

"You shouldn't have to keep it to yourself." She said in a louder, more insistent voice, before turning to him with an expression of suppressed worry.

He could see her effort at braving it with him. If it were with any other person who made mention of this, he'd have slung them with a few dead-weight sentences by now.

_And if this were a month ago, I would have said something that needed to be said… and she would be crying and running away._

"I want to know about you, Sasuke-kun. All those times I looked at you, knowing something was on your mind… you were always so deep in thought, and I wanted so badly to help…"  
"You want to know about Itachi." Sasuke said flatly, cutting down to the roots of the bush.  
But Sakura shook her head and her mouth lifted at one corner before she spoke again.

"Not just… I want to know about your past."

The young boy's eyes flashed dangerously.

"I've kept it in too long." Sasuke said, in a tone just short of intolerance.  
"I like long stories. I'll listen." Sakura insisted stubbornly.  
"No one will ever hear about it."  
"I don't want that to be true! Please, Sasuke-kun, I'll help…"  
"Only I can help myself." Sasuke said bitterly, and he made a move to break away from her.  
"Please Sasuke-kun… Stop hiding…" Sakura whispered urgently, reaching out, pressing the tips of her fingers to his skin.  
"Hiding… is something I've already perfected." He answered into her hands.

Sakura knew she couldn't lose him, and it hurt to admit the things now going through her mind.  
_If I can't make him tell me anything, then the point of being with him is hopeless. I won't be happy with an empty shell. It'll be Sasuke and everything he is... It won't be any other way._

Her hands were trailing down his jaw as the thoughts came, and after a while she squeezed at his neck with a resolute smile, new strength chiseled into the sheen of her eyes.

"Hide and Seek?" she guessed, and her lips formed a smile of certainty, "You won't always want to hide. And once you decide to step out, I'll find you."

Something in Sasuke's gray-tinted eyes flickered, and he looked long and hard at the girl in front of him.

"Convince me." he suddenly whispered, then lowered his mouth without warning and kissed her.

"Sa-" the girl started to say in what was meant to emerge either an inquiry or a protest, but was now turning into a contented sigh.

"Right now, though, drop the subject." he said, heated breath curling against her mouth. All she could manage was a quiet moan as his tongue came to trace experimentally over the line of her lips.

"… melon." he said, pulling away with a bemused expression.

Sakura jerked and looked away, face red with embarrassment.  
"It's lip gloss." She said with a flustered turn of her head.

"Hnh." He stared at her for a moment, blinked and then gave her a sardonically-twisted smile.  
"You knew this was going to happen."

He suppressed another smile when Sakura turned to him in slight horror. "I-… I didn't, I wanted-"  
"I get it." he broke in evenly, with a lift of his shoulders.

Sakura could do nothing but look back at him. Just like the first time she'd seen him. Save for when she was embarrassed, she found it hard to look anywhere else. Especially now when he was staring at her as if the whole embodiment of intensity were not enough to hold in his eyes.

"I don't know how you tracked me here or why - or even what you've heard…" Sasuke started to say.  
"But…" the boy sighed freely, shoulders lowering, strands of hair framing his face. "It beats being alone."  
His fingers reached up, grazing carelessly across the side of Sakura's face, dancing along her peripheral vision and then gathering as a palm at the back of her head.  
He pulled her forward until she tumbled into his arms and he held her there, ignoring the small sense of awkwardness that still lingered in the back of his mind.  
"Thanks." He almost inaudibly muttered, turning his head away from her.

"Hide and Seek."  
The boy heard the singsong warmth in her voice and looked into her shining eyes.  
He felt a hand cup at his nape, slipping into the skin under his wide collar, before his head was drawn forward meeting perfectly with her soft lips.

"I found you." She murmured with a smile.

"Hnh." He snorted stubbornly, but just as easily his face softened. "This time you win."

Their lips met again, only because they both found it hard to resist the sensation of a soft mouth and tongue exploring the taste of the other.

**YAY! To those of you who haven't given up on the story.. har-hars … this is where I bring in the good stuff. Thank you thank you to those who remain faithful and to those who comment.**

**hands out Sasuke Plushies.**


	18. MORE

**WARNING: I'm extremely into details. While reading you may notice the room getting several degrees warmer... :D Innocent readers... I wish only that you ENJOY. Thank you. :))) And i hope you think that looooong wait was worth it.** evil grin

CHAPTER 18: MORE

Sasuke enjoyed the way she responded to him. He loved the way her fingers curled against his chest and how she tentatively parted her mouth every time he boldly pushed to explore her.  
The smell of her hair and her skin, everywhere around him.  
Her soft breath against the skin of his neck...

Almost too vaguely, he remembered the doorway behind them being left very much open, and the thought of being discovered sent an odd thrill, much like the heightened excitement before a competitive duel, up the Uchiha's neck.

It took him gargantuan effort just to pull away from her mouth, to stick his leg out behind him and slam the wooden frame shut with his foot.

And if Sakura hadn't been so vigilant as to push him up closer against the door, he wouldn't have had the decency to press the lock in, either.

"Matakeh- that didn't even occur to me." the boy mumbled against her and Sakura's smiling mouth did the favors of silencing him by pressing warm to his parted lips.

Gradually, he sought out other places, starting with the corners of her lips, sideways to the curve of her jaw, the arch of her neck; he only barely sucked and was careful with his tongue, but the taste of her and the soft sounds that reached his ears each time he discovered a sensitive portion of her skin was new knowledge he badly wanted to master.  
She twisted against him, stretching out or tightening in response to wherever his breath fell on her skin. And soon she was humming her enjoyment as his lips began trailing dangerously low, tentative in pursuit, towards the hollow between her collarbones.  
Sakura's fingers came away with his feathery locks and she looked down with a bittersweet smile, trying vaguely to convince herself… this was not a dream.  
That it was indeed Sasuke's head she was cupping between her palms, his lips trailing mesmerizing patterns around her skin.

_This is happening, right? …IS this happening?…_  
"Is this all real?" Sakura whispered breathlessly, and his eyes flickered upwards to look at her before she realized that she had spoken aloud.

"Just a good dream, Sakura." Sasuke curtly played along, but hesitated when his hand came across the small zipper on her dress- the only opening it had, from the tip of the collar down to the ends of her skirt.

His subtle smirk faltered when he realized how close he was now to exposing her vulnerability.

Just one long tug down…  
And the dress would slip apart.

If he wanted to take her…  
Forcibly push her against the wall…  
Hold her body down…  
It wouldn't matter how much she struggled or protested…  
He would win.

_You are twisted, Uchiha._  
His muscles clenched heatedly at the idea, but the years of recluse made it so much easier for him to move his hand away — partly from shame, and for the sake of his pride, but mostly just out of respect.  
He hadn't yet gotten as far from temptation as he'd like, when her fingers snatched his and pushed his knuckles back to the opening of her dress.  
He looked up at her abruptly, as surprised as he was puzzled and Sakura's fine eyebrows shot up, complementing the brilliance of her valiant smile.

"Be nice enough…" her voice was quiet but at the same time insistent, "-to turn this good dream into a very good one, Sasuke-kun."

"Sakura…" the mildness in Sasuke's tone had disappeared entirely now and the boy suddenly looked as if he were unsure of what to do.

So far from the usual confidence he held, and she'd known for as long as she could remember.

Now, uncertainty flickered in his obsidian eyes, and the grace and coordination that earned him the admiration of many, was replaced by careful kisses and hesitant fingers. The pleasure of being able to command such a change in behavior from him made Sakura wickedly kind of happy.

No — Triumphant.  
And she was now way beyond smitten.

To his astonishment, she grinned and, seeing his narrowed stare, Sakura gave a light giggle.

"Really you laugh at the most inopportune moments…" he muttered, looking away, catching sight of the bed, and then hastily touching gaze to every other corner of the room; trying mentally at the same time to undo the coils tightening in his stomach.

Before the events with her, he'd never felt this way.  
Never like this.

The odd blend of shyness and boldness, unease and certainty, feigning indifference and then needing completely… Sasuke resisted the urge to push his hands through his hair, frustrated with himself.

He felt as if he were standing in the middle of a room with an exploding tangle of scrolls, unable to organize, reading but not understanding, with more tumbling from shelves with every passing second.

"Sasuke-kun,"  
His dark gaze settled on her at the call of his name.

And for reasons unknown, the assurance Sakura had, left.  
Suddenly she was more than nervous because of what she wanted to tell him.

"I-I… want to be very honest… with you…" her voice came out soft, and Sasuke placed a hand distractedly in his pocket just out of habit.  
"I want you to know… I like doing this…" and her voice trailed off, face jerking sideways and reddening in embarrassment.  
Sasuke's eyes lowered, fearing the threat of his own cheeks turning into the same unstoppable shade.

"Don't you?" the pink-haired shinobi blurted out after a pause, finally finding the strength to glance up at him.  
Still, he didn't answer. He didn't want to admit to anything and his dark, slanted eyes closed, mouth burying into his collar.

A touch to his shorts made him jump.

Turning his gaze down, he saw Sakura's slim fingers lingering there at the base of his shirt.  
And looking back up, he saw that the kunoichi had a serious look of unabashed determination on her face, apparently opting to swallow her pride, trying to forget the unrequited confession.  
It reminded Sasuke of another identical expression he had seen many times when she was concentrating long and hard on a ninja exam.

She was serious.

"Can I…" the girl started, and then faltered. Her green eyes had turned dark in the enclosement of the room, but he watched the way the light reflected off its round center, watched her gaze settle on her own hands.  
Even more than her words, her gestures were making him nervous.

"Can I feel your stomach?" she finally asked.

_My-… What?_, Sasuke almost stammered.  
But he stopped himself, suddenly taken aback by the oddness of her question and his arms dropped to his sides as he started to chuckle. Short bouts at first, and then open strings of it —low and melodious, bringing out the Uchiha's rare, beautiful grin.

"…My stomach." Sasuke repeated after a pause and an uneasy tug of his mouth.

His shoulders straightened and he eyed her, curious, even if slivers of confusion mingled within the tinges of gray in his eyes.

"Can I?" She asked again.

Her gaze was filled with such sincerity that Sasuke suddenly felt like a bastard for having laughed at her.

He said nothing and then lifted his shirt, cautiously eyeing her.  
It still felt ridiculous, the whole situation and her question was ridiculous.  
He was still thinking about how to tell her just what he thought, when he felt the heat of her palms spread out over his skin.  
Instantly, his nerves jumped at the contact and whatever candid euphemism left him.

_Mm,_ a small voice in his head murmured.  
The now familiar, but more heightened spiraling sensation clenched at his midsection as the girl's fingers molded into the firm dips and curves of his stomach. And then he was lost, looking at her hands as they traced down the familiar lines of his muscles, palms dragging over his bellybutton, dipping lower until he lost breath, and then higher until they stroked lightly at his ribs.  
The ample attention she paid to exploring every inch of his skin, he'd never felt himself touched like this.  
He felt warm - very warm, and painfully hard, in a place much lower - if she dared to explore some more.

Suddenly Sakura pulled him from his reverie with a voice, soft even in silence.  
"Ever since that mission we had in Wave Country," she whispered, "I've wanted so much to touch you here."

Well it was either that statement or the increasing boldness of her hands as they clasped the sides of his torso, but Sasuke's restraint had suddenly snapped and soon his whole shirt had slipped over his head.  
In another smooth gesture he'd thrown it at the bed, and then turned to her with a look that she thought, appeared slightly frustrated.  
The girl had barely blinked when his lips landed hard on hers and he'd grabbed one of her hands.

"You make me feel stupid." He muttered against her lip as another hand reached for the small zipper he'd encountered only moments ago.

"I- I'm not forcing you. Sasuke-kun… I'm sorry-"  
"No." He interrupted, and his forehead wrinkled as he fixed her with a gaze of unwanted admission.  
"I want this. There's the answer to your first question…-"  
"-usuratonkachi." He couldn't help throwing in sharply.  
Sakura couldn't think of anything to say, because the boy suddenly pressed her captive hand back to his belly.  
His free fingers, he used with measured, nimble movements to push the zipper down.

Yes, there was the feeling of mortification.  
After all, the girl shinobi had never allowed another hand near her dress' opening.  
And this was Sasuke-kun.

Normally, she would have bandages wrapped around her breasts for the sake of better mobility during training, but today wasn't one of those days.  
After a briefing with Kakashi on the next mission, it was dismissal for team seven.

Apparantly, Sasuke had already noticed and he stiffened, eyeing the exposed skin, glimpsing the dips of a modest cleavage, only yet imagining what her breasts would look like but knowing full well…  
Knowing…  
"You're not wearing a-…" he stammered, brokenly, searching for a subtle word to place.  
_Undergarment? Support?-_

"A bra?" Sakura provided for him, enamored with the boy's reaction even when she tried to fight down the embarrassment.  
"It's built into the dress." She further explained, flipping the red fabric over to show him.  
He really didn't know much about girls.  
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly in a mixture of discomfiture and amusement and  
Sakura's eyes glowed as she smiled back convinced now, that her heart skipped not out of nervousness but from loving him more and more each second.

She swallowed all of that which held her back resolutely, dismissed the embarrassment and welcomed the growing need for him.  
She knew he felt the same way.  
Her hand reached for his, and she pushed the dress away from her shoulders, letting the material slip down her arms to her waist.  
The beautiful female nakedness stood before him - creamy and flawless, delicate curves and subtle strength hidden in the caress of the soft shadows molding over her skin, in the firm contours of her arms and belly.

"Here." She pressed Sasuke's open palm to one of her small, full breasts and his obsidian eyes widened slightly, the jerk of his head bringing his stubborn black locks forward.  
Sakura thought he was beautiful- his maturity and dedication as a ninja, his striving to be worth something, and his shy innocence when it came to sharing himself, opening his heart or caring for another - for Naruto and for her. She found the odd mix very likeable.

"Adorable." She said, tracing a finger across the slight blush spreading along his cheeks.  
The raven-haired boy blinked back for a second, knocked away from balance only for a moment before he regained his composure, forming a smirk at her complement.  
He leaned forward, close enough that their noses touched. So close he could trace the light and shadows pooling in her eyes and feel the presence of her breath stir softly at his skin.

"Shut up." He murmured with a stubborn tug of a smile, and punctuated it by brushing the pad of his thumb over one pink nipple.  
Sakura's lips parted and he seized the response, giving in to his immediate wishes — pushing on her, slipping a warm tongue inside her mouth, tasting her… again. Feeling the sensitive shocks flit around his stomach and the tightness in his chest. Never enough.

His hand moved carefully over her breast, experimentally, like all things he was experiencing with Sakura for the first time, he learned what he could.  
And when she gasped against his mouth after he had pressed her nipple against his thumb and forefinger, he smiled into her skin.  
With newfound encouragement, both his palms reached out to caress her body, fingers tentative, sliding up along her ribs, pressing into the weight of her breasts.  
His lips venerated the sensitive spot just behind her earlobes, knowing well from their earlier agenda that she liked it.  
And then his mouth paused, as if torn in decision, before dipping lower towards the curve of her neck, his tongue flicking out to trace subtly across the diminishing scar there, down to her collar, kissing and tracing along the bridge of bone and the arch of her shoulders.

Slipping down, down…

Before the kunoichi had requested him for it, Sasuke already closed his hot mouth around one nipple resolutely, touching his tongue to the sensitive skin and petting the swelling mound almost timidly, with bouts of hesitation, until her hand tightened against his shoulder and she was moaning.

Yes, he must be doing something wonderful.

Sasuke didn't know something as petty as a sound could endear him this badly, it threw any patience he had, away.  
With a tight grunt, he pressed her to the nearest wall and held her there, raising his head to consider her position.  
Then his dark eyes flashed ominously, and at that point, the girl kunoichi couldn't care less if he shoved her to the floor and tore her dress in half.

"You know…" he said, his tone of voice tightly suppressed, more thick than piercing.  
"I'm supposed to be in bed. Resting."

"Then let's rest." Sakura answered without missing a beat.

At this, he gave a low, slightly pained chuckle.  
"I doubt that's a good idea." Sasuke whispered then, and his onyx eyes, though seemingly passive, settled on her love-bitten mouth.

"I can control my urges…" Sakura said, tilting her chin indignantly at him.  
"Mm. Maybe so…" He agreed, closing his eyes. "…But then,"  
Sakura gasped as he deliberately pressed his hips to her.  
"It's not you I'm worried about."

"Sasuke-kun." She murmured, eyes lifting to his face as she became aware of the heated bump pressing on her, just barely getting to her inner thigh.  
This was what he was trying to tell her.

"So," he started, and then continued darkly, "stop making stupid suggestions."

Sakura looked at him, her need suddenly escalading so much so her body quivered under him. Something in her green eyes sparked as she spoke,  
"Stupid suggestions? You might regret saying that."  
"Hn." He smiled, face a perfect mask that now appeared impossible to read.

Perhaps she only wished it, but Sakura imagined she saw a flicker of regret already there.

"Considering that we're being called to meet at the bridge in an hour, it wouldn't be very convenient."  
"And that is convenient…?" Sakura asked with teasing sarcasm, gesturing down at his groin.  
"I'll manage." He said flatly, ignoring the ache between his legs.  
Sakura knew his distemper was one of his downfalls, but how she loved the intensity of his slanted eyes and deep frown when he was irritated.  
Her eyes settled on a beige leather couch only inches away from where they stood.  
"Is it stupid to suggest sitting down there?"

"Fine", he snapped, already giving in to the foul mood.  
He pushed off her and walked towards the sofa.  
Sakura watched his lean frame slip into the seat, snatching in a breath, as her stare fell to the contours of muscle, the smooth, pale skin, the measured grace of his movement as he stretched out over the cool leather.  
She didn't move, and after a moment he turned his gaze sideways to look at her form, half-naked and pressed to the wall, dress hanging dangerously low on her hips.  
"Are you going to stand there and act like an ornament all day?" He asked in as plain a voice as he could muster.  
"If I'm good enough to be on display, it's a complement." She whispered, distractedly.  
And the boy watched as she made her way over, the fabric of her half-removed dress swaying lightly over her calves, strands of pink hair brushing across her moist lips, and falling over the curves of her shoulders, the slight weight of her breasts and the light rosiness of her nipples…

Sasuke almost protested when the kunoichi lowered her body much too close to him, and he was about to give in to his weakness, stalk to the bathroom and finish what it was his body needed so badly.  
But as always, his pride fought into his head and instead of getting up he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  
It only made matters worse when Sakura's head slid forward, pressing tenderly into the crook of his arms, her soft skin brushing against his own so much his insides became feverish, the desire building up until he groaned and twisted his head away.

"You're not helping." He declared hoarsely.  
"Then let me solve the problem…" Sakura offered.  
"I solve my own problems." Sasuke answered in a stony voice. And the girl shinobi's eyes softened when she realized his words went much beyond this particular situation.

"Sasuke-kun," she started. But he made no move to acknowledge her, and his eyes remained closed, the way it always did when he wanted to be left alone.  
"…Sometimes you have to admit you want the help." The kunoichi whispered after a moment and she watched his eyes slowly open. For a while he continued to stare at the wall next to his face in silence. But when he felt her fingers touch at his stomach, his dark eyes finally lifted to hers.

"You want the help." Sakura knowingly repeated, and a moment of mutual silence passed with him looking at her, but not confirming.

And then Sasuke's hand settled over his white shorts and he mutely unzipped his fly.

Sakura watched his face lower, strands of night hair spilling from his forehead and spiking high at his back.

He remained still for a moment and then she heard him speak — quiet and low, "Give me your hand."

She did, and ignoring the flutter of pleasure-pain in his stomach Sasuke slipped her palm behind the opening of his boxers.

He didn't let go until her fingers were already there, pressed surely against his aching member.  
And then he turned away, because he suddenly felt so vulnerable. Too much so he couldn't look at her.

"You're so warm." She breathed, startling him.  
And boldy her fingers touched the hard length of him, felt across the sensitive skin and caressed along the stiffness of the tip. The pink-haired shinobi's sweet smile widened. "I didn't think it was so…" and her hand brushed along the heat of it, "I mean… I didn't expect it to be so- smooth…"

Soon, her fingers were moving with newfound precision, exploring the length and rubbing along the ridges.

"…hot" She added with a triumphant grin.

Her sparkling eyes looked up at him, but the grin disappeared when she saw that Sasuke wasn't reacting the way she expected - or wanted him to for that matter.

His body was tensed against the back of the couch. And there was an expression on his face that told her he was trying to suppress what looked like a painful cringe.

His eyes narrowed sharply at her before his dark lashes pressed tight against heated skin and harsh breath rushed out through his clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry…" her hands stopped instantaneously.  
"-Does that hurt you?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Idiot…" He breathed, and his cloudy obsidian gaze lifted to hers.  
"If you keep stopping like that, it will."

Then he surprised her by lurching forward.  
Sakura watched the shadows move across his sharp features, settle into his eyes, mold the edges of his lips. "Move, Sakura. Your hand." - came the urgent command.  
And then his lips pushed roughly to her mouth and his hips motioned forward, earning a gasp from her.  
"Move." He heatedly whispered again.

The desire shot up inside her and she responded blindly to his mouth while her hand closed around his length. They kissed and touched and fell stretched out across the couch with Sakura's back pressing into the wide armrest and Sasuke spread out on top of her.

Her hand touched his rigid flesh, lightly held it as if she were afraid of hurting him, still.

"Come on, Sakura." He said, edges of impatience clipping his tone.  
"You're not holding a kitten."

Sakura bit her lip in contemplation.  
"Then what is it?" she asked, the question barely ending before it became a moan. Sasuke had his palm over one breast and his tongue on another, but the exploration stopped and his eyebrows drew together, exasperated.

The boy didn't expect her to take it literally and ask him what animal he thought his cock was.

He almost laughed if he didn't feel so damn denied of fulfillment.

"A snake." He answered immediately, thinking about physical resemblance without giving it thought at all.

But Sakura had suddenly pulled back, her eyes shadowed with images of a recent past. And the boy knew it was Orochimaru she was thinking off.

"I don't like snakes." She said in a hardened tone of finality.

Sasuke looked at her for a moment, and then the boy's mouth curled wickedly as he pressed closer.  
"…then strangle it."

Almost immediately Sakura's fingers tightened around the flaccid member and the pleasure spiked into his groin.  
After a few directional thrusts, and flustered instructions from the boy, Sakura learned for the first time of a man's need, learned how to slide her firm grip up towards the head and down against the hilt - a delicious, continuous motion that pleasured Sasuke, until in a moment his lips tore away from her mouth and he pressed against the couch with a shuddering groan, his moist black hair falling against his warm face, spreading out like raven feathers over the beige upholstery.  
His hips dipped sharply and Sakura became aware of an odd, hot wetness spilling over her palm, before Sasuke's hand snatched her face up to his and he gave her a slow and measured kiss of lip, teeth and tongue that would have made even the legendary pervert Jiraiya, blush.

"Keep going." He urged breathlessly as he pulled away and groaned again when her hand twisted experimentally at the head of his member.  
His body was fevered now, but Sasuke forced himself still, gritting his teeth as the pleasure threatened and then faded, until it increased in force and came within shorter intervals.

Gradually, Sakura learned the language of his body, pushing relentlessly and then slowing down to tease, igniting his impatience more and more until he clutched at her pink hair and pushed his hips forward in surrender.  
"Do it, Sakura. Fuck."

Even the way his urgent voice said the obscenity was exhilaratingly sexy, and instead of being taken aback, she wanted compliance with him.

Her fingers squeezed tightly, and his head fell back as he whispered her name, one breath lost in many.  
She came forward and his lips met hers in the vague light, hands tightening around her nape.  
The indescribable sweetness of completion, coiling the tight spring inside him, closer, closer…  
"Sa-ku…ra,… you-… its…" his clipped voice faltered and the rest of the sentence faded off into a soft moan, as the insurmountable pleasure spiraled through him.

The kunoichi's insides clenched tighter still, joining his on a different level, as she watched Sasuke give in completely to the fulfillment, the moment solidifying with the slow shudder of his body, the harsh breaths. The pained look, she now knew was more from his struggle to reach fulfillment.  
He made a sound deep in his throat and she felt him jerk, hips lifting to meet her even strokes.  
More streaks of hot wetness slipped along her hand as his own fingers pressed tight into her shoulders.

The sound of her name tore from his lips again - embalmed in a suppressed groan that made his breath catch and fall around them, the sound harsh yet quietly restrained.

Still so silent.  
Even when the world shattered around him.

His heated breath punctuated the air, and after a moment, his fingers loosened considerably over her arms, and slid down, stopping the motion of her hand against him.

His pale chest rose and fell against the splayed fingers of her free hand and for the first time, he matched her gaze, with a look as equal in tenderness as hers.

Sakura's gaze flickered, first into confusion and then awe.  
It was the Uchiha ability she now found herself staring into.

Highlights of red swirled within the depths of dark obsidian in his eyes, and she pressed her face closer, mesmerized at the three small imprinted dots in one eye and a pair in the other, watching the markings until they faded away with the red and it was Sasuke's gray-tinged onyx shade she was looking into again.  
She tilted her head, amused. And his heavy eyes blinked.

"Are you done staring?" he tersely asked.  
"Why does that happen?" Sakura asked with a curious smile playing along her face.  
"Accelerated heart-rate and Adrenaline brings out the Sharingan." The boy answered, trying to satisfy Sakura's natural need for knowledge with as few words as possible.

"It's …pretty." She murmured after a moment.  
"It's used for violence." Sasuke deadpanned, and smiled only slightly at the sound of her giggle.  
His body settled back into the leather, which was now very warm and Sasuke realized he was exhausted and messy.

"Come on. Both of us clean up— Ah- Sakura!" the Uchiha bit out suddenly when the girl began stroking him again.

"Let's see the red one more time. Look at me." She tried valiantly to command him. And Sasuke measured her with a tempered look before he gave up trying to suppress the stubborn smile tugging at his lips and he snorted, looking away.

"I can't so soon."

It was obvious from the way she blinked at him that she knew as much about boys as he did about girls.

This made him smile.

"Sakura," he started impatiently, "I'll explain that in the bathroom."  
"Will you show me?"  
"Not necessary."  
"...You WILL show me."  
"… Fine, Sakura. Now get up."

**Author: So... how was it? Lemme know what you liked and didn't like. grins and bows thankyou for the support. huggles you all**


	19. MERGE

**NOTE: BEFORE READING ON, GEJI-MAYU MEANS "FUZZY-EYEBROWS," IT'S BOTH NARUTO AND SASUKE'S PET NAME FOR THE GENIN, ROCK LEE. JUST TO BETTER ADD PERSONALITY TO THE STORY, I ALSO LEAVE LOTS OF WORDS IN JAPANESE. IF YOU NOTICE, SASUKE ALWAYS SAYS "DOBE" AND "USURATONKACHI," IT JUST BASICALLY MEANS IDIOT AND BLOCKHEAD, RESPECTIVELY. HE SAYS THIS A LOT IN THE SERIES.**

**IN THE FANFIC HE SAYS "IDIOT" AND "STUPID" TOO, IF I THINK IT'S MORE SUITABLE TO USE THOSE. HAHA. THAT'S ABOUT IT. THANX:)**

Chapter 20: MERGE

_Sasuke. Sasuke. Do you hate me enough now? Are you angry enough… to kill me?_

Itachi stood on a high cliff - one of the highest mountains around the forest overlooking Konoha. The cold bit past his robe into the light netted material he wore inside and for the first time in years he noticed the chills.

Seeing Sasuke had brought back a bit of the feelings he had long let go off, had long brushed aside and learned to ignore.  
Tossed through the heat of the dessert, forced to live within the darkness of caves, crossing borders with snow soaking in to the ankles — he had trained himself long and hard. And it took many years, but he had finally perfected it… the art of letting go of his past, of no longer feeling, of appearing dead to the world, shunning useless emotion.

But being so close to that which he held dearest to him had so easily disposed of all that hard work.

_Never again. I won't take it easy on you anymore. The next time we see each other, you will no longer recognize me. I will convince you, Sasuke, that your brother is dead._

The permanent sharingan seared into his once coffee-brown irises observed the movements of the town - his town… long ago. He watched the shadows move across the roofs and gazed at the dots he knew were people, walking the streets, coming and going. Such innocence and naivety.

Did he envy them?  
Perhaps he once did.  
But to sacrifice one thing for another was only the natural course of life.  
He knew things now… of greatness and power beyond that of the Leaf Village walls.

The whisper of the wind turned into a moan and the older Uchiha tucked his mouth into the thick, wide collar of his cloak, the heavy black material with red patterns fluttering gracefully against his ankles.

He didn't bother looking at the rock monument. It sickened him, though Itachi didn't bother to think about why.

He didn't want to stay here waiting any longer than necessary.

_Hold back the bloodlust of your sword, Kisame. And learn about what it is the Akatsuki so badly want to possess._

Somewhere down there amidst the villagers, his partner was mingling, still.  
And Itachi hoped he hadn't gotten carried away like all the other times they'd been sent to extract information.

He almost smiled into his cloak remembering the way Kisame's eyes sharpened when that old fruit-seller had come up to him.

"Young brother! Have a taste of this dragon-fruit. It will give color to your cheeks, make that scaly skin go away… give it a try-"  
"Old geezer…" the shark-like missing-nin cut him off. His voice was quiet, gravelly like dead corals on sand, and enough to send chills up the fruit-vendors spine.  
The broad-framed Akatsuki member turned around and the piercing, inhuman slits of his eyes flashed at the old man, causing him to take a hesitant step back.  
Kisame's sharp piranha teeth meshed into a slow sadistic grin, "…You insult me."

The worn Uchiha didn't bother trying to stop the hostilities. Instead he looked around, feeling inside him, the stirs of his brother's familiar chakra. His dull, red eyes focused on a wide stairway to the left.

A smack to the eye caused the vendor to cry out and Itachi glanced sideways at Kisame, whose grin had widened noticeably at the painful torture.  
"Ask him if this is where Uchiha Sasuke lives."

"Yes!" the old man cried out before Kisame could speak. And the shark-ninja chuckled coldly, throwing a heavy robed arm tight around the wheezing victim's neck, enjoying the way the man's toothless mouth opened as he  
struggled to breathe.

"Which floor…?" the shark hissed, close to his ear.  
"I don't know-I don't know… Why are you doing this!?" The old man bit out as he tried to pull away. His bony hand dropped the fruit he'd been offering and he pressed trembling fingers against his eye, which was already bleeding and starting to swell.

Kisame laughed, the same cold, menacing chuckle that sent the man recoiling from the shark-ninja's broad frame. "No one insults me and gets away with it."

The Uchiha's red irises scanned the windows above them and the familiar feeling enveloped his senses as his stare settled over the white railings of a particularly large apartment room.

"There." Itachi murmured, his gaze fixed on the terrace.

In a silent leap that seemed effortless, the older Uchiha's body had disappeared and landed swiftly on the balcony railing two floors up. The wind stirred at his cloak and the chimes around his hat tinkled quietly as he looked across the patio chair, the plants and the glass window leading inside.

"This is not part of the mission, Itachi." Kisame's low growl broke into the air around them. He stood balanced beside his partner, two floors from the ground, one hand dangling the terrified, moaning old man precariously over Sasuke's balcony ledge.

"Please… spare me…" the fruit vendor rasped, and Kisame leapt down to solid ground, swiftly slamming the oji's feeble body into the cold, metal railings - one rough, gray hand squeezing relentlessly at his throat as the bars behind them rattled.

The sudden disappearance of his partner's presence from peripheral vision distracted Kisame.

"Itachi…" he growled in low warning, turning too late to see the sharingan-user already gliding into the room.

With a vehement curse, Kisame directed his sharp eyes at the old man and one hand reached into his gnarly, gray hair to yank his bloodied face up.  
The shark-like irises sharpened threateningly as the fruit vendor wheezed in pain.  
"Why don't you and I take a quiet little trip into the boy's room?"  
The fruit vendor struggled vainly and his teeth clenched.

"And I mean quiet, old man." the ninja snarled, jerking his victim's head, before half carrying and half dragging the man's frail, struggling body across the floor.

Unfortunately, the moment they'd reached the inside, the old man had attempted to defy his captor. And before he could even inhale to shout, Kisame had already taken a sharp katana from under his robe and swiped it clean across the poor man's neck. The body slumped instantly, and the cold-blooded shark shrugged and pushed it soundlessly across the wooden planks with his sandals.  
Itachi's long eyelashes fell across his cheeks as he lowered his head, caring to step away from the glistening blood that was now stretching out across the floor.

"That wasn't part of the mission either." The older Uchiha said in a low voice.

"Well-" Kisame said dryly, a toothy grin spreading across his face, "I guess we can call it even then."

Itachi spared him a brief glance, watching his partner lick at the bloodied sword before the wanted-ninja pushed it back into the holster hidden in his heavy black robe and eyed him.

"Don't take too long." The shark-ninja muttered, transparent eyes looking him over, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

_And hopefully, this time, you do not take too long either._ Itachi added as he crouched against the biting wind and looked at the forests below.

His mind went back to the mission, and the older Uchiha found himself wondering what the Kyuubi container looked like. Was it a big body or a small one? A girl or a boy? Did it even know there was a living demon sealed inside it? It was amazing still, how the Third had managed to keep any of the families of Konoha from talking about it.

Even he had grown up never conceiving of the idea.

_Well, soon._ he thought, _… very soon, we will find out all about it._

"Okay, Kiba. What is it you wanna talk about?"  
Naruto's fingers twisted around an elongated kunai with a pre-activated exploding tag on it as he glanced at the disheveled looking ninja beside him.

"Well,…" the wolfish ninja muttered as he leaned back on his hands and observed the trees above them. _… What was the least most embarassing way to go about this?_

"Come on! I'm meeting my team in less than an hour, make it quick!"  
"Alright!" Kiba snapped, his teeth meshing in aggravation as the blonde narrowed his eyes at him and crossed his arms.

Akamaru yipped, dark gums pulling back to expose the sharp canines, as the dog threw himself over his master's knee. Naruto was about to give him a mindless pat when the wolfish boy snatched the white dog up and set him down over the grass.  
Then the ninja's long nails dug into the ground, emerging after a moment with a handful of grass… some of the blades still with the roots clinging vainly to soil.

The blonde ninja's eyes widened slightly, and he blinked. "Uh… Kiba-"  
"Naruto," the brown-haired ninja stoically cut him off, "can you imagine how painful it must be for the grass? To be pulled out of the ground… to suddenly be separated from the roots and the soil and to discover it's floating away from the rest of its body?"

The orange-clad ninja made a face and shuddered, whiskers dipping into a distasteful frown.  
"Geez, Kiba. I never thought of it that way. And… eh, what does this have to do with anything?"

"What if I told you… Naruto, that I feel EXACTLY like THIS grass?" Kiba stressed the question, pointing with emphasis at the crumpled green blades pressed into his palm.

"Well…" the fox-ninja licked at his canines as his blue eyes squinted in thought, and Kiba exhaled tolerantly, waiting for the blonde's answer.  
"I guess," Naruto started as he looked hesitantly at the doggish-ninja, "I'd feel bad for you."

The clumps of grass shot off into the dirt and Kiba's hand came to rest atop Akamaru's head.  
The small dog slipped his muzzle along Kiba's fingers, sniffing at the damp mildew and moss before he whined and lowered his head.

"Well… you should!" the boy ninja whipped his gray parka over his head, and his pointed irises flashed in a mixture of pain and defiance.

Naruto only raised an eyebrow and shook his head, silently telling his former classmate that he needed a clear explanation.

"Because, Naruto!" the dog-ninja declared, tossing his hands up.  
"Right now, I'm pretty sure it's you Hinata likes, and that I don't stand a chance."

For a moment the blonde ninja sat unmoving, and then his lips numbly mouthed his first thought, "You like Hinata?"

The wolf ninja turned away, the red fang-like marks running down his cheeks doing nothing to hide the slight blush creeping over his face.

Naruto's eyes crinkled and his shoulders started to quake as he pushed a hand to his mouth and continued to stare at Kiba.  
The hooded ninja could hear snorts of what sounded like supressed laughter, and soon Naruto had burst out laughing - his shrill, impish ha-ha-ha's erupting into the woods around them, more boisterous than Kiba could tolerate, especially at a time like this.

Akamaru barked in a defiance that matched his masters, and Naruto laughed some more.

The blonde ninja continued to clutch at his stomach, catching his balance before he doubled over. And then he pulled himself up and the yellow hair burst around him, his clear, ocean eyes exploding with mirth.

"Kiba - I never thought someone like you could be interested in a girl like her!" The fox-ninja declared feistily, slipping into another round of the odd, off-tone, gravelly-squeaky laughter that was typical Naruto.

"That's not the point!" the wolfish boy snapped, breaking into the blonde's chain of high guffaws.

"Well," Naruto bit out, his grin widening, "it's even more hilarious that you think Hinata likes ME."  
And Kiba mutely watched as the blonde ninja pushed off from the ground and tossed his hands carelessly behind his head.  
"She's more afraid of me than anyone else is!"

"Yes-" The wolf-ninja said curtly. And he pushed his parka hood back up, scooping Akamaru into his jacket as he fixed Naruto with a sharp stare. "Ever wonder why?"

The whiskered ninja shrugged and gave Kiba a frown. "Scared is scared. She probably just doesn't like me all too much."

"You're wrong." Kiba drawled out flatly and Naruto continued to stare at him confused.

_Why was his former classmate even talking about this?_

"In fact, Naruto, and damn does it kill me to say it…" the boy snarled, resisting the urge to knock some sense into the dense blonde idiot. "She likes you a lot."

"Keh." Naruto snorted and he walked off towards the direction of the bridge. "That's even harder to believe than Sasuke dating Sakura."

"Well, that would be the day." Kiba mumbled, rolling his eyes at Akamaru as he followed the blonde boy out of the forest and into the town street.

"Tsh, yeah right." Naruto said under his breath, before he gave his former classmate an off-ish shrug. "Anyway, Kiba, Hinata doesn't like me. It's impossible."

"Well I thought Uchiha Sasuke giving someone like you a complement was impossible." The boy countered and the blonde turned, giving him a flat, slightly irritated scowl.

"That arrogant bastard doesn't know how to give a complement." Naruto muttered, trying to make himself look better.

"Huh," Kiba grunted bitterly, "apparently he does - if you're not there to hear it. He said you don't go down easy… that you put up a good fight. Ask Neji, he was there."

Naruto stopped walking, and he gave his friend a wayward glance.

"Okay… First, you tell me, that Hinata - a girl… -a Hyuuga, no less, actually likes me. And then you claim that the most inconsiderate and overly-arrogant,... most, most, most self-centered shinobi I've ever known said THOSE things about me… to other people?!"  
Kiba opened his mouth, and then closed it again, before he finally did speak, "Other people being Neji and me, yes…. And yes."

"You expect me to buy that?! What is it you want, naaa, money?" the blonde boy's voice rose incredulously.

Kiba's tolerance almost snapped and he was about to explain everything, when a low whimper came from inside his jacket. "Mm?" the boy looked distractedly down at the restless dog.  
"Akamaru, what is it?"

The blonde ninja shook his head in extreme disbelief and narrowed his eyes, staring hard at Kiba, before he sighed in impatience and resumed walking away.

The little white bundle of fur was still yipping when its owner caught up with the orange-clad ninja.

"I think little buddy here is hungry-" Kiba muttered, giving his furry companion an affectionate ruffle to the head. "-He keeps saying he smells fish."

"I didn't know Akamaru ate fish?" the blonde suddenly said, somehow already forgetting a bit of the earlier discussion.

"Naruto, sometimes, he's even more human than most people I know-" then the boy stopped himself, and shook his head, flashing the whiskered-ninja an aggravated look, "-anyway, man, stop leading me away from my point!"

"I don't want your flattery, Kiba… what do you want from me?" the usually loud-mouthed ninja now mumbled, blonde eyebrows furrowed. Kiba just gave him a deflated look and sighed.

Together they walked out of the clearing and into the road.

From the thick foliage they left behind, a pair of shark eyes glinted and a low voice rumbled against the careful sway of the trees… "Finally... I've found you."

"You are to retrieve the royal family's most cherished possession - a small gray-feathered hawk, with black-tipped wings — called 'the little prince'…" the pink-haired shinobi lowered the mission scroll as Sasuke closed the door behind him and dropped the keys into his weapon holster.

"Hnh. Another D-rank." The boy shook bluish-black locks away from his eyes and slipped on his forehead protector as he scanned the contents of the scroll.

"Village of stone." Sakura read aloud, and as if a horrific thought struck her, she cringed and shut her eyes.  
"I don't like heights very much." She said sadly.

"You'll have to deal with it." Sasuke murmured, nimble fingers already untying the second scroll, bearing the next mission.

Downstairs, the kunoichi gave the woman managing the counter a friendly smile and a wave as they passed and the landlady gave a meaningful nod of her head and proceeded to arrange the cluttered papers around her desk.

Sasuke's eyes continued to move over the words inked into the scroll he was holding, oblivious to anyone and anything as they exited the small building.  
After a moment, he silently rolled up the paper and pushed the scroll into his back pocket.  
Sakura started to push the other scroll she was holding into his other pocket, and he stiffened, fixing her with an unreadable stare.

The depths of his eyes were so easily concealed now, and the girl couldn't help doubting the reality of the events that happened within the room. How easy it was for him to just forget, to start acting again like his old self, the distant Sasuke she was familiar with before everything happened between them.

- How cold he seemed now, and how different.

Slowly, her fingers resumed tucking the scroll neatly into the boy's pocket, and she looked up at him, mint-green eyes dim with just a bit of confusion and sadness.

"Sakura…" the boy started, his dark eyes not leaving hers. "Our relationship as team seven, the missions and how we handle things… none of it changes."

_None of it?_ a voice inside her softly asked.

But the kunoichi said nothing, and her face lowered, causing strands of sleek pink to obscure the look in her eyes.

"Okay." She finally said, trying to ignore the odd pain spreading out inside her chest.

The raven-haired boy's look lingered on her for another moment before he slowly turned away and started walking.

So this was how it is. And what else was she expecting… The little pecks of love? The pet-names? Trips for ice cream and sweet whispered I-love-you's? Ridiculous.

The idea was one that occupied a large portion of her fantasies for the longer part of her life around this boy, but now that Sakura finally thought about it, she could never imagine Sasuke-kun as that kind of person.

Even if she didn't want him completely cold and stony, she also knew he was never going to just let go of his stiff side to become the sensitive, overly romantic, boldly affectionate lover she sometimes pictured him to be in her dreams.

She felt a slow disappointment that stung more than she wanted, and Sakura forced herself to stop asking and then expecting too much from the boy.

_I should be happy. He said it didn't he? Sasuke-kun said he couldn't hate me._ the girl's green eyes traveled up to the sky and she couldn't help feeling the dread that threatened to choke her when she remembered what he said as she lay recovering in the hospital.

_"…I had to keep you alert somehow."_

Then it could really have been just that, and he could have meant none of it. Before she could plunge further into questions and depression, another voice broke into her thoughts.

"Sakura-san!"

A little way in front of her, Sasuke stopped walking and Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as she turned behind her towards the source of the voice.

The black, cereal-bowl haircut.  
The tight-fit, leaf green fighter's suit.  
… The thick lower eyelashes.

"Lee-san…" she greeted weakly, a small smile on her face.

Before, she had the chance to take a step back, he'd already bounded many steps forward and pressed his face a respectful, but still very short distance away from her nose.

"Sakura-san," the taijutsu-specialist blinked and his round saucer-eyes focused intensely at her.  
"I was just thinking about you. Yes! Sakura-san!..." he suddenly squealed, and made to clutch her palms in his tightly-bandaged hands. "I think about you every singly moment that I am awake!"

"Lee-san…" Sakura said uneasily, struggling not to pull her fingers rudely away from him. Really, the boy just wasn't her type at all. He had a too thick… everything. Everything about him was too much or too little or too… ah, thick.

Sasuke's onyx eyes missed nothing and he continued to watch from afar, trying to suppress the annoyance and anger threatening to seriously upset him.

No, he won't move. He'll continue to stand here.

Stand patiently until his girl finally decides enough is enough and comes running to him.

_My girl? Mine? It's not fair to claim her._ Sasuke  
silently berated himself, and the anger flared even more.

"Sakura-san, hear me out." Lee tactfully asked with a slight bow of his head. "I know you don't consider me as anything more than a friend… But please, give me the pleasure of taking you out to dinner tonight."

At this, Sasuke's slim eyebrows finally drew together and he closed his eyes arrogantly, trying to will away the temper that was now attempting to push his legs towards Sakura.

"Uhm… Ano, Lee-san. I-…" the girl kunoichi was still struggling with her words, her face warming when the agile, lotus-user finally sighed and let go of her hand.

"Sakura-san…" the boy's tiny mouth trembled slightly, and his big, black eyes looked beseechingly at her, "please allow me to share a bit of myself with the girl I love."

At his words, Sakura's eyes opened slightly, and the raven-haired Uchiha was certain he caught a flicker of the same sadness he'd seen earlier, as she gazed at him.

The girl-shinobi lowered her hands to her sides as she blushed even more and turned away, "Please stop, Lee-san."

"No, Sakura-san, this love is unstoppable." The relentless boy insisted, and his saucer eyes burned with such passion that Sasuke barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.  
"I promise that as long as I care for you, your heart will not break."

Something lodged into the Uchiha's chest.

The raven-haired genius didn't know if it was the taijutsu ninja's tone of voice, the honesty or the weight of his sure words, but he felt the jealousy then, very much delayed and almost stronger than when he saw Naruto summon that gigantic, red toad.  
And the boy, who now didn't bother to think of "what if" and "will I regret this", only did what his heart told him to do.

He turned and started walking towards Sakura.

She was still trying to politely convince Lee she was not interested when the Uchiha's calm, fluid voice sliced through the air.

"Don't you think it obvious… that Sakura isn't too comfortable with your offer?"

The pink-haired shinobi slowly looked up at the only boy she ever, and perhaps, would ever love, only to see him giving Lee a piercing look that seemed good enough to threaten even the Hokage.

The breath stopped in her throat as the older boy in the tight-suit shifted his gaze to the reputed rookie and they both mutely regarded each other in silent hostility.

"Sasuke-kun." The older boy suddenly snapped, "Please don't speak for Sakura-san."

The green beast turned to smile slightly at the object of his affection, and for the first time, the girl couldn't help giving him a genuine smile of respect back.  
"She's capable of making decisions for herself and I want this chance… for me to prove my blooming, youthful springtime love for her!"

It was how he said it.

Sasuke's mouth twitched and his eyelashes lowered as he laughed - the chuckle low and deliciously sweet even if it was directed as an insult to the older boy.  
His obsidian eyes lifted slightly, and he gave Lee a silent smirk.

"Don't consider this a laughing matter, Sasuke-kun. I can promise… that I won't ever go easy on you…" And the boy's fists clenched as the Uchiha continued to stare wordlessly at him.

"After all, you, Sasuke-kun, are my rival…"

The older boy sent Sakura an awkwardly placed, smouldering look before he firmly smiled and passionately continued, "…not just in battle, but also in grabbing the attention of this beautiful girl."

"Rival." Sasuke mused in a low voice, and the corners of his mouth lifted in inquiry.

Sakura cast him a worried look before suppressing a gasp when the raven-haired boy pushed his hand into hers and firmly held on.  
Sasuke's dark eyebrows lowered against his luminous eyes and in an evenly-controlled voice he said,

"Look carefully… Geji-mayu."

Having ordered it, the genin raised the evidence of their hands, fingers laced together... as official a sign of being a couple as could be.

Sakura bit her lip and blushed, as she watched Lee's face collapse in disbelief.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, her eyes downcast.

"I accept you being a rival in battle," the younger rookie eased, and then his voice hardened together with the look in his dark eyes. "But that's where this rivalry ends."

Lee's resolve shattered visibly and he looked into the silent girl's eyes.  
"Is this true, Sakura-san? Sasuke-kun and you…"

The girl opened her mouth, but didn't know exactly what to say or even how to explain the situation.

"She's not going to have dinner with you…" Sasuke continued, "Because if she did…" his fingers tightened around her hand and he exhaled audibly. "If she agrees to you…"  
Slowly, the kunoichi's eyes settled on his face, waiting for his next words.  
And Sasuke, amidst his slight falter, finally gave her a look stripped off any pride - a look she saw, was brimming with admission.  
"I won't be happy about it." he finally blurted out.

With the confession, Sakura's eyes came back to life, and her hand, which had been passive to his grip, now squeezed back. The girl didn't bother to stop the wide, radiant smile that was slowly breaking into her face.

The smile she gave him was enough, Sasuke thought, for everything to be worth it. And he gave her a weak curl of his mouth in return.

"It's funny running into you again." The delicate-featured woman smiled up at Kakashi, tucking the billowing strands of her fine, black hair behind her ears.

"Yes, it was just yesterday, wasn't it?" the jounin said, fixing her with a look of amusement.

Today, she was wearing another long kimono, bluish and lilac with patterns of pussy willows scattered around the fabric draped modestly around her petite frame. "…I come to the bookstore a lot, you see." Kakashi continued, and as if he suddenly remembered, the shinobi ducked to look into the said store to catch the time on the clock above the counter.

"Ah," he turned to her slowly, and his eye crinkled in the familiar way she discovered was actually quite cute.  
"Ah?" Yume repeated, unable to help the teasing tone of her voice.  
"Ah… I'm twenty minutes late for my genin team meeting-" the pepper-haired jounin continued, and he gave a flustered little chuckle.

"Oh my." Yume's big, gray eyes narrowed, more charming than apprehending, even if she was aiming to tell him off with a look.  
"It would be a shame to be such a skilled ninja and yet such a poor, irresponsible teacher."

The lazy-looking ninja gave her a blank stare, before he said "Ms. Yume, I do believe nobody has ever put it as frankly as you just did."

And she surprised him with a boldly indifferent shrug, to which he was suddenly quite curious and attracted. "I think… that a battle is only half won without the presence of discipline, responsibility and initiative."

The jounin's dark eye observed her. And after a moment he leaned against the wall with hints of - though Yume wasn't certain — what felt strongly like a smile suppressed under the black mask.

"Besides," the girl continued, and her slim fingers touched at the brick wall behind their heads, "when you decide to teach the importance of teamwork, then you musn't oppose that of which you are trying to teach. As a leader and a teacher, you are the primary example of what is right and moral."  
"You break what it means to be a team if you show up late, because the group is then not complete. I trust you know, more than I, that it affects everyone."

The point hit home, and the shinobi found himself discovering that, indeed, this girl knew what she was talking about and for the first time in a long time, he felt an admiration, unlike that of what he had for his students, tug at his heart.

"You sound older than you look." He murmured softly, and before the young girl could answer, the jounin held a gloved hand out, "I want you to meet my genin team. I think they'll like you."

The sun glittered across her pale skin as she blinked at him, uncertain whether to accept or decline the offer.

"Come with me." The copy-ninja suggested, pushing off from the wall and more formally holding out his hand in invitation.

In reality, Kakashi didn't know why he was doing this.

He had never been one to talk freely with random village women because he'd always been surrounded by ninjas his whole life.

He was considered one of the best in Konoha, one of the elite — as they say, and ever since his days as a young boy, his sensei — the Fourth, Konoha's Yellow Flash, had been keeping him at the academy, busy with high-ranking missions and training with highly-skilled shinobi, forever enhancing his ability.

There were girls, alright.  
Just never the kind that didn't have a kunai or two concealed in weapon holsters tied to their thighs.

Never a kind of woman with delicate fingers or a milky complexion that wasn't used to the long hours of sun working in field missions, a woman with no scars from battle and who had never experienced holding a dying comrade in the middle of a raging war.

This was Yume — all that innocence and yet, also, such  
impressive wisdom.

Kakashi found himself staring mutely at her, and the girl smiled openly before reaching out to him.

To his surprise, she gently pushed his fingers away and tilted her head up to catch his look, her gray, snowy eyes adrift with slight sorrow.

"Unfortunately, Hatake, I'm on my way to visit my brother right now…"

And then she gave him a grateful smile that oddly, made his abrupt disappointment vanish.

"But thank you." She bowed slightly, and her red lips pursed as she glanced hopefully up at him, "I'd like it if you invited me again some other time."

"Of course I will." Kakashi murmured and he gave a bow as equally benevolent before giving her a genuine smile of admiration.

_Or adoration?_ the jounin grinned to himself, trying to stop the sudden skip in his chest.

**And well, I've more of a load then, working on kakashi's love-life too. haha. GREAT. :D**


	20. BRIEFING

**If I had any idea on how teams are told about their missions, this would be it. Just to flesh out the genuity of Konoha, I did this. Fictional!!! But, anyway, I had fun writing this chapter! **

**Ahh. Anyways, I'm guessing generally the spicy stuff is in the next chapter. Hmm. Not in this one. Haha. I just hope (very much) that you all are enjoying as much as me. :) Thank you to ppl who take the time to comment. Really. :P **

Chapter 21: SHORT BRIEFING

"… You said our relationship would still be the same… that nothing would change."

Both genin were walking, now only a few street corners from the bridge of meeting.

Sasuke focused for a moment on their intertwined fingers, before he looked at her and spoke.  
"…Sakura, I was referring to our relationship as team seven, even if you and I… are..." the rookie stopped, flustered before he abruptly looked at her, the weight of responsibility in his eyes, imperative.

"-Especially in the middle of a mission." He snapped, unable to find the right word to describe what he had first started to say.  
"You and I…" Sakura smiled, enjoying the way the words sounded on her lips.

He couldn't take it. Some part of him didn't want her hoping for too much.  
Alone, for so long, depending on himself, living just to get stronger, and thinking only of what he needed and wanted. It was all about him, and it had always been for nearly as long as he could remember.

_How now-_ Sasuke thought, vaguely dismayed at his own confusion and lack of direction, _How am I supposed to suddenly start thinking of more than just me? Why don't I know what to do?_

He would ask her, if he didn't have so much damn pride.  
But an Uchiha was an Uchiha. There could never be enough pride involved.

"Don't think about that too much." The genin suddenly said, the same time they turned the corner.  
"But I will…" the kunoichi murmured, and her deep, crystal eyes looked up at him.

He felt it again. That carefully-guarded fortress of his, blown away by her stupid, annoying sincerity and the much too intense green of her big, round eyes.

And now that ridiculously enticing mouth was coming closer to his face.

Sasuke still didn't know why he wasn't doing anything to stop her.  
Nothing at all.

And then, he told himself it was too late anyway, because her lips had brushed against his and the shock already came, too quick to stop, messing with his stomach.  
- Lingering, even when she was already pulling away with a smile on her face.

"Don't kiss me while we're walking."  
Luckily, his tone sounded as if he were more burdened with annoyance than with his lack of self-control.  
But it didn't really matter.  
Not if the one you were telling it to, could somehow see right through you.

The kunoichi laughed and shrugged, "I did it just because."  
"Just because." Sasuke repeated, his eyes sending her a dry stare.  
And then his stormy gaze looked forward and he suddenly stiffened, pulling his hand mutely away from hers.

Sakura caught sight of the bright orange jacket even before its owner had turned down the street with another former classmate, Kiba, in tow behind him.

The kunoichi looked oddly at the genin beside her.  
"You didn't have a problem about that with Lee…"

"Sakura," he muttered, "it's different with Naruto."

The female shinobi was about to ask why exactly when the blonde's peripheral vision, used to detecting her unusual pink-hair, noted the color and he turned distractedly away from his companion.  
"Ah? Sakura-chan!"

Kakashi appeared only a few minutes after Kiba's departure towards Chouji's favorite Yaki-niku restaurant, the swirl of smoke circling around his legs as he landed lightly over one of the red poles holding the bridge together.

"Yo!" he cheerfully greeted with a tilt of his head.  
"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura called out in sync.

"Sorry," the jounin mused, "I met a beautiful woman and got carried away talking to her."

"Yeah right." Sasuke and Naruto mumbled at about the same time, before they warily eyed each other and then abruptly looked in opposite directions.

"Anyway," the lazy teacher drawled, and the three genins moved backwards as he leapt down, landing with a solid thunk over the wood, one gloved hand swiftly extracting a scroll from his navy blue pants.  
"Let's get down to discussing the details, shall we?"

"A snow country?" the blonde ninja screeched loudly, his shoulders seemed to bristle with excitement as he shot his teacher an aggressively determined look, all-too familiar to his personality.  
His canines meshed and he pumped a fist in the air.  
"Finally, some new scenery!"

"Yes, well… I guess the Hokage finally decided to give you what you wanted." Kakashi said.  
"What I wanted?" the fox-ninja repeated slyly, his blue eyes already glistening like arctic ice.  
"You wanted an exciting mission…" the jounin pointed out, and he grasped the open scroll between his thumb and forefinger, holding it out for all three genin to see.  
"This is B-rank."

"B-rank?" Naruto practically hollered.

Sasuke crossed his arms and imagined that it took his teammate a better part of his control, not to leap off the bridge and take a chakra-consuming jog over the side of the rocky cliff.

He smirked to himself at the thought, and closed his eyes.

"Kakai-sensei, isn't B-rank a bit too dangerous for just genin to handle?" Beside him, Sakura wasn't too excited. In fact, her forehead was wrinkled in worry and she had her hands defensively curled close to her chest.  
A posture, Sasuke thought, that was reserved for whenever she was stressed.

"Oh," Kakashi lowered the rice paper and smiled at her, "that's why I'm coming. …Now-"  
"Don't worry, Sakura-cheeeaaan!" the giddy blonde ninja interrupted enthusiastically, and he gave her what she knew Lee called a "nice-guy" pose, with his thumb up.  
"I'll definitely protect you!"

Suddenly, the blonde caught himself and his blue eyes shot towards his rival, who still hadn't reacted, and seemed too deep in thought to even look at him.

"And Sasuke will too." He muttered, a little too softly.

The raven haired boy didn't look at either of his teammates, instead finding it curious that Kakashi now had his measured, unreadable, all-knowing stare directed at him.

The young genin mirrored back an identical emotionless look and the two mutely watched each other.

"Sakura," the jounin suddenly said, breaking the silence, "I told you long before that in this team, it is you who has the most efficient chakra control-"  
The pink-haired shinobi looked at Kakashi from under her lowered eyes and slowly nodded. "-and Naruto," at his name, the said genin's head snapped up, and his teacher gave him an even look.  
"You have the worst."  
"Eh?!" The blonde boy's eyes widened, and his eyebrows snapped together, outraged. "Na, sensei, why are you suddenly talking about this?"

"That night in the forest," the jounin continued, ignoring Naruto, "what happened to you, Sakura, required a high level of chakra control that usually only medical ninjas have attained."

The girl's eyes widened and she looked regretfully at the wooden planks between her sandals.

"Sasuke," the pepper-haired ninja then moved his gaze to the young sharingan-user, "the technique, Chidori, is a skill that requires speed and that same level of chakra control. That is why I chose you."

The wind rustled in the trees, and the branches and leaves wove moving cut-out patterns for the sunlight to display across the ground.

All three genin stood unmoving and silent as their teacher sighed and slipped a hand into his pocket, lazily reclining against wood.  
"Chakra, when controlled efficiently, can be converted to energy utilized for the life-force, repairing cell damage, healing fatal injury, and the like.  
Thank you Sasuke-" and the pale boy looked up at Kakashi's appreciative smile.

"If you had failed, I would have resulted to using up a large amount of my chakra… and Sakura might not have made it back here in time."

The orange-clad ninja stood there, listening to everything…  
Taking the blow for everything…  
He was more than just disappointed.  
His heart ached with the burden of his faults, and inside he felt ready enough to weep.  
Cry for how he was such a failure to others, more than in self-pity.  
Cry for his sudden lack of a good enough purpose to serve his village and his team.

Naruto was plagued once again with thoughts that the damn genius-rookie would always be better than him.

Always.

And though it wasn't like him to give up, this was a time as close to it as ever.

And then his teacher placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, what you lack in chakra control, you make up for in its amount. Out of everyone, it is you who has grown most in terms of utilizing your hidden chakra resources. I doubt even I am capable of summoning the great toad-king, Gama Bunta after creating one thousand kage-bunshins."  
And then the jounin smiled, "I chose you to watch over a helpless friend, because I knew that whatever would happen in the forest was something you could handle well."

The sudden light filling the blonde ninja's eyes would be enough, Kakashi predicted, to jumpstart the earlier enthusiasm of the group.

And after a moment, the blonde raised his head and gave a wide, candid grin as he pushed his hands behind his head.  
"I was wondering when you would praise me." The fox-ninja said, eyes glinting.

There were two missions - as the jounin then told them - that would be carried out after the next two days and extend up to the next two weeks.

"We have three days to look for the village of stone's "little prince" and bring him back to the royal family."  
The sensei spoke now, with a tone of formality and a look that revealed nothing but serious business.  
His silvery eyebrow was furrowed deeply, and the one visible eye appeared keener and more intelligent than ever. "Pay attention, Naruto, stop looking at Sakura."

With a sharp tug of another sheet of paper, Kakashi stretched out a Chinese watercolor painting of the said bird and pushed a kunai up from his weapon holster, the glint of its tip licking at the sun as he pointed it to each distinctive feature.  
"Beak — noticeably sharp, very dangerous, Wings — tipped in black, spanning half a meter across when in flight, Plumage — ash gray…" and Naruto took the moment to stick a thumb rudely in the direction of Kakashi's hair.  
"Just about, but darker." The jounin drawled, catching the movement even if he continued to stare at the poster.

"Finally, the most important detail…" The three genin looked on silently, as their teacher extracted a slim, black device from his army-green jounin vest.

And then he turned one lazy eye to them and said, "Listen."

His thumb pushed at the tip of the object and before long, a shrill sound that was definitely a bird, but was nothing like any kind of bird in particular, pierced through the silence and bounced off the rocky ridges around the bridge.

After a few more echoes of the same sound, Sasuke's eyebrows drew together, and his gray irises looked to Kakashi's.

"It's a word." The genin said flatly.  
"Huh?" Naruto's eyes narrowed into slits and he crossed his arms, confused.

"Very good." The jounin said, tossing Sasuke the recorder.  
The boy caught it and listened, before slowly handing it to Naruto.

"In particular, it's a name." Kakashi continued to explain, and Sakura pushed a hand to her hip when she asked, "A name?"

"Yes. The name of its owner - the princess."  
The jounin then smiled at all three.  
"The hawk says 'Hana.' This is the call, we'll be listening for."

"Mm. Mm." the orange-clad ninja nodded profusely and in that moment everyone fell to their own thoughts.

"That's boring." The blonde suddenly declared, then his face lit up and he impatiently added, "Now, snow-country!" to which their wizened teacher lowered the scroll and gave Naruto a dreary look.

Sasuke closed his eyes, and before he could stop himself...

…

"…Hn. Idiot."

"Raahhhh, shut up Sasuke!"  
"Naruto… don't tell Sasuke to shut up!"  
"Ah, hai… hai… Stop it now, you three.  
...Let's take a break."


	21. PRESENCE OF WATER

**Author's Notes:**

**Mm... rowar! First of all, Sasuke's favorite food is Tomato. **

**Something to do with the story. I really do love Sasuke so much, and I'm really sweating it out trying to bring out his rare side. Well, hopefully i don't go screwin it all up so that he's completely unrecognizable. Hopefully, my version still sounds and feels like Sasuke. I've reached a point where there's less and less room for changing my character's personalities. **

**Thanx for reading. :) ENJOY! **

CHAPTER 22: PRESENCE OF WATER

Sasuke turned his pale face up to the gray skies.  
In two hours the weather had changed drastically, and the clouds now looked heavily impregnated with rain.  
Beside him, Sakura and Naruto were still bickering about the second mission to Snow Country.

"It's all your fault, baka! Now all of us are stuck with Kakai-sensei's B-rank mission!"  
"Ngh, But Sakura-chean!? Don't you want to help find those missing kids?"

"Of course I do!" the aggravated kunoichi snapped, and her hands pressed to her slim hips, "But if we never heard about the mission, then it would have been better for all of us, right?"

"Ah-ah…" Naruto struggled to reason as the pink-haired ninja stubbornly turned her face away from his pleading eyes and gave a resigned sigh.

The blonde's hands dropped limply to his sides, and his shoulders slumped as he frowned.

"Not like we have a choice now." Sasuke said in a low voice, and a sudden gust of wind rippled through his sharp locks as he slowly turned away and made to walk across the bridge.

The whiskered-ninja looked for a moment at the prodigy's back and then both he and Sakura turned to follow.

It was funny, the blonde thought, how Sasuke's behavior seemed not to have changed at all.  
He had spent some time mentally preparing himself for the arrival of the pain and the traumatizing visuals as soon as his blue eyes caught sight of them walking towards him and Kiba, together.

_But so far, he hasn't shown the smallest sign of affection for her!_

Perhaps Sasuke was only kidding about the whole thing?  
The blonde immediately dismissed the fact with a hollow snort.

Sasuke didn't know how to joke, unless his statement was something sarcastic about Naruto's flaws.

… Then maybe the conversation at Ichiraku was a dream?  
This, Naruto entertained for a few moments before almost bitterly laughing aloud, remembering the somber eyes the ramen girl gave him this morning when he arrived for his breakfast bowl.

And then another seemingly impossible thought struck him… and for a moment the fox-ninja almost stumbled as it hit.  
Sasuke, that cold-hearted, selfish tensai-dolt… His rival, his friend… might actually be sparing him from the pain.

Some part of him rose defensively, not wanting the pity and the unnatural treatment.  
He could handle it, damn it!

If this is right, if he was right… then the bastard actually had the sensitivity, the decency — something Naruto never thought could be associated with the class rookie — to keep things subtle in front of him.

_Sasuke,_ his dark blue gaze flickered with a strange combination of gratitude and annoyance.  
_You righteous bastard._

With a bitter smile, the blonde stopped walking and turned his face away so there wasn't a chance at all they could catch a glimpse of his misery.  
And after a while, he mutely eyed the Uchiha, who at that precise moment chose to look up at the clouds and frown.

_Keep your shirt on man, and don't take your cranky side out on her…_

Both his teammates turned around slightly when Naruto stretched his arms over his head and gave a distracting yawn.  
"Aaaahh, I'm bored… So I think I'll head out to explore some of the new street stalls…" And then he gave them an unusually sunny grin for someone so supposedly unentertained.  
"Jia!" he shouted in parting and without glancing back to see the reactions on their faces the genin tore away down the side-alley.

_Its better this way._ The orange-clad ninja kept telling himself with every pound of his blue sandals over the pavement.  
_Better. Better. Better — not to see her so happy… with him._

For a moment, Sakura and Sasuke stood, both mutely blinking at the blonde's odd behavior.

"Hmm…" the female ninja pondered, breaking the sudden gap of silence. Her mind worked competently, deciphering Naruto's sudden departure, and then she turned to glance at the boy beside her, who seemed, to her relief, just as confused.

It was only then that the thought they were alone, just the both of them, occurred to her, and she bit her lip apprehensively.

At just about the same time, the mystified expression on the Uchiha's face lifted, and he lowered his head in understanding.  
But before he could say anything his eye caught hers, and instantaneously he knew what thoughts were running through her mind.

It seemed her eyes were exceedingly critical of the little bit of space there was between them.

It was the Uchiha's initially hollow stare that first caught Sakura's attention, and then it was the way light from god-knows-where surrounded his starkly black irises.

She saw the pulse and glint of attention in his eyes and she was still observing him when he had suddenly grabbed her shoulders and swiftly pinned her against the nearest brick wall.

Her eyes flew open with shock and the boy's lips parted sensuously.  
"I'm starting to like taking you by surprise."

It was his voice. It was always his voice - that suave, solid tenor that reminded Sakura of powerful sharks gliding sleekly in crystal water.  
That tone was what did this to her.

This.

The exhilaration went from non-existent to everywhere, setting her skin, the nerves underneath, her muscles on fire.  
And she could already feel the heat from her face as she pressed even tighter against the wall.

"That moron…" Sasuke whispered, "-thinks he's a regular cupid."  
"W-what?" the girl struggled to squeeze the question out, much too distracted by his quiet beauty.

"He knows, Sakura. A few days ago, I already told him." The boy looked away from her for a moment, and the gray depths of his eyes shifted with thought.

"He intentionally left - as a favor." Sasuke suddenly confirmed, and then his voice lowered.  
"That Naruto…"

Sakura could barely hold in a gasp when the genin's face came closer.

The smell of him - of fresh grass and leaves, heat and clean laundry, it filled her.  
And a warm tongue traced across her lips, cutting off her breath.  
And then as if he hated the gracelessness of it, Sasuke clenched his jaw and cursed.  
"Damn it."

"What is it?" Sakura weakly asked.  
"The lip gloss."  
"…You don't like it?"  
"More like… I'm starting to crave it." the boy slowly punctuated, substantiating the statement by brushing his lips across hers, this time as a wholesome kiss.

But the look he next gave her seemed filled with agony.

She disliked that look - the distress. And her chin nudged up at him, wanting more.  
To which he obliged quietly, lips whispering breaths of heat into her skin, standing there in the empty darkness of the street, surrounded in her warmth and smell, tasting the sweetness.

The wind twisted at their hair, toyed and mingled with the strands of baby pink and blue-black, nipped at the heat of their bodies, danced around the light material of their clothes binding them together.  
And the vast skies wept, taken by the beauty.

Sasuke stood there looking at her, at the places his mouth kissed. The smooth paleness of skin, the softness of her cheeks, the fine curve of her nose…

One droplet of rain, a shattered wet streak across the delicate bridge of it, but the girl seemed not to notice.

It was only the dim circles of light in Sasuke's eyes. Something she no longer saw, but instead, felt.

Then more rain came, a drizzle of beads hitting gently at their faces, soaking into their hair and dampening the hues of their clothes.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said, losing the honorific to the drift of the rain.  
He said nothing but kissed her. Just so she knew he had heard beyond the downpour.

Nothing now but thoughts dug themselves deeper and deeper into his mind, repeating many times over.  
That he never wanted to be alone again.  
That he lost everything once and he never wanted to lose again.  
That with his past holding him back, he was only hiding.  
…But that she would find him.

_…I want you to find me._

The downpour escaladed and Sasuke blinked back the rain, his bangs now clinging wet to his forehead protector, startling black locks pressed curling to the sides of his face.

He didn't particularly care how heavy his clothes had gotten, didn't think much of the water weaving across the lines of his mouth and slipping down the angles of his jaw.

Amidst the sheet of gray, he could only watch the droplets of rain clinging to her wet eyelashes, knowing she was looking at him as intently as he was looking at her.

_And what about the man you want to kill…  
Your dead family…  
The whole point of surviving this far….  
The point of your life…?  
You're alive because he's giving you a chance to kill him.  
Are you just going to throw that chance away?_

He was tired of the same questions, tired of answering each one again and again.

"Sakura…" he looked into her eyes, droplets trailing down his chin as he spoke.  
"If someone took everything that ever mattered, away from you… what would you do?"

She blinked back, forgetting the rain, beyond surprised that the boy had suddenly asked her the question.  
After a moment, she tilted her head.

"I would cry for a very long time…" the girl finally said in admission… "But I'd also spend my life getting those things back."

"You can't bring the dead back." The boy whispered, and the girl kunoichi sighed, her eyes filling with sadness for him, knowing well it was difficult to talk about something as painful as his past.

"…That's true." She slowly agreed, "But what about feeling good and laughing, having friends, meeting commitments…" the young kunoichi's fingers squeezed at his shoulders and she looked up at him, "experiencing love, and feeling alive….those had been stolen from you, too."  
"…Your brother might have taken everything from your past life away, but it also depends on how you look at it now."  
Sasuke couldn't hear the rain anymore, even as it pounded over their heads. All he knew now was the sound of her voice, the weight of her words.  
"You might see it as a chance to avenge your family..." Then she gave him a meaningful look, "But Sasuke-kun… you're still here because he gave you the chance to live…"

The chance to live. He had never wanted to see it that way before. Was too consumed with hatred to view things from another angle, and was too proud to ask anyone else what they thought.

It was always a chance to kill, a chance to avenge, a chance to take the murderer down regardless of what happened to his own life.

But a chance to live…?  
Live again.

"You say your future lies in your past… but you have people who love you now… more than you know. New people you have to protect and who, also, will protect you. Sasuke-kun…" she suddenly pushed her face towards him, eyes bright as summer, startling him because everything around was bleakly gray.  
"-stop dwelling on the past… because the future - your future — is different."

He didn't know how long he watched her, or heard the words in his mind.  
But his hand reached for hers, their fingers joining without a twinge of awkwardness, and in the comfortable silence that followed, yet another of the many firsts that day, he pulled her into more rain and they walked.

Stumbling drenched into the apartment room, Sakura's lips were already on his, the droplets of rain bleeding into the wood and the walls as they gathered into each others warmth, kissing and tangling along the unfamiliar furniture.

Barely pausing for air as the door closed behind them, the two genin backed into the room, tongues licking at sweet rainfall on skin, fingers clutching to wet locks of hair, their bodies blindly moving until they slammed into the dresser at the corner.

"Ah-" Sasuke bit out, trying to suppress the slight throb on his right shoulder for bearing the brunt of the impact.  
He promptly gave her a mild glare. But she responded by quickly leaning in to give him a soft, slow kiss in favor for the harsh attack she jumpstarted on him earlier.  
And instead of pushing her away, his hands stiffened and then clutched at the folds of her dress, before he tore away and groaned in frustration.  
"The plan was to bring you home."

"My parents are out to dinner." Sakura reasoned with a flighty grin on her face.  
"That has nothing to do with it." He answered, dark eyebrows framing his severely-ravaged look.  
"I want to be with you." She ardently whispered. "I've wanted to for so long and now I'm gonna make the most of it."  
"That… makes more sense." Sasuke said, smirking dearly as droplets trailed down his jaw.

And then the rookie wordlessly broke away from her and elbowed the bathroom door open.  
He walked to the sink and leaned over, hands grabbing the front of his shirt, tightly wringing the wet fabric, watching the excess water flow into the drain.

Sakura watched as well… only her green flecks were much too focused on the lean ridges of his stomach.

_Years of hard training will do that. That's what happens. And looks really will kill if Sasuke-kun fought out in the open like that._

Sakura suppressed the playful, girlish twist of her lips. And when it was partially under control, she looked up to see the raven-haired boy holding a large, white towel out to her.

"I don't want you getting sick." He muttered, angling his head sideways.

"Thanks." The girl cheerfully said, taking the towel, and giving him a small peck.  
Her kiss landed at the corner of his mouth and before she could move away, he quickly snatched at her hand and pulled her back, forcing her closer until she was inches from him and a little way away from the kitchen counter.

"That didn't quite make it." he whispered, and the gap between them closed as he pushed his mouth to her, meeting her lips perfectly to the slight bumps of their noses.

He took the time to listen to the soft murmurs coming from her, and placed it as a challenge to himself to be able to memorize the motions of her lips.  
His mind worked with various combinations, just as in the other kind of physical battle, and before long she was deduced to weakly sinking against a wall, sedated by the delicious motions of his tongue, enticed forward by the gentleness and careful ministrations and then struck breathless with the unexpected boldness that followed.

Sasuke was an impossibly capable kisser, who despite his impatience and straight-forwardness with everything else, knew the importance of being able to linger, tease and pamper every inch.

With subtle dexterity, Sasuke had slipped a finger down her zipper and the girl pulled away, breathless and flushed only to discover the smirk on his face and the sensation of a draft coming down the middle of her chest.

"Oops." He murmured, not looking at all as if he'd made a mistake, his eyes moving temptuously up to her face.

Sakura shivered, not entirely from the cold fabric still clinging to her skin, but also from the lack of it when she shrugged the garment from her shoulders, and slipped her arms free of it.

She mutely looked up at him as she stepped out of the dress and her lips formed a timid smile.  
"Oops." She repeated, softly.

His fingers lifted, slipping up her stomach, and he smiled at the warmth shifting underneath his palm, before he took a step back and removed the soaking fabric of his own blue shirt.

Sakura's heart was pounding, from anticipation to his next move, from tension and excitement.  
And the boy stood there, mutely staring at her before his hand reached out.

Sakura couldn't say she knew what he was trying to do, until his fingers came past her face and plucked the forgotten towel out of her weakened grasp.

Wordlessly, the boy draped it around her shoulders.

"We only have three days to finish the first mission, and the second one will need lots of attention…" he said.  
And then his eyes lowered with resignation.  
"Getting sick is not an option."

"Sasuke-kun…" she murmured, could do nothing to stop the warmth in her chest spreading out to the glows of her jade eyes as she gazed at him.

But he had already turned away from her and walked across the room.

"Sit at the table. I'll get a shirt."

"Kiwi, pineapple, grapes, banana, apple… and tomato."

_Tomato?_

The girl watched the body wrapped in a blue towel bending low into the open refrigerator.

Her fingers twisted at the napkin on the table and she frowned, the stark white towel wrapped around her own body, rustling as she leaned in.  
"What about meat, or fish and more vegetables?"

The boy twisted away from the glow of orange light and  
gave her an indifferent look.  
"I haven't stocked up."

Then the Uchiha dried at his hair and closed the fridge as he walked over with a bundle of fruits in his arms.

The chair gave a sound of wood dragging against wood as he pulled one out at the table and slipped her a banana and a kiwi.  
"Here…"

Sakura eyed the fruits on the table and then watched Sasuke as he relaxed into the seat next to her, carelessly inspecting an apple and biting into it.

"I want apple." She said teasingly.  
The boy paused in his chewing and cast her a meaningful sideways glance.

She watched him push his arms across the table, unable now to ignore how close his face was to hers, how his obsidian eyes seemed to be gauging her every move.

"Take it." he suddenly said, and she saw a glimpse of the piece in his mouth as he spoke.

So she did.

The boy was challenging her and Sakura slid her chair close till it pressed up to his leg.  
He realized too late when she pushed her parted lips and probing tongue into his gaping mouth.  
"A-" he barely started before she had pulled away, a feisty smile lingering on her moist lips.

"It's too deep inside your mouth now." The girl playfully sighed, propping an elbow up against her chin.

He took a moment to swallow the breath that caught in his throat and then his shoulders lowered as he looked at her, "Sakura, I meant the apple in my hand."

She blinked, and as the embarrassment hit her, she groaned and meekly turned away, pushing the towel up to cover her face.  
"Uah, of course, of course…"

And she did look so honestly mortified.

Sasuke didn't know what it was about her that was making his stomach clench now, why his chest was tightening and the breaths weren't coming, why something so usually annoying, so embarassingly idiotic… now seemed to him exceedingly — god bless it - …sexy.

_It's because you know she's only wearing your shirt and her shorts under that damn towel._

And the uncontrollable reaction of his body because of the sudden thought made him upset all of a sudden, he bit into the Fuji apple before setting it down with emphasis on the table and then sharply looking at her.  
"Here." He said.

Her mint green irises peeked out from between the fluffy gaps of towel, and she was only so close to taking the fruit when his hand suddenly wrapped around her outstretched wrist, "No." he slipped her hand over his nape and leaned forward. "Here."

And then the kunoichi did have a taste of apple when he kissed her.  
The dawny softness of the two towels brushing together, white tangling with blue and the clash of their heated mouths tasting at the sweetness of the fruit on their tongues.

The movements of their bodies were more insistent now, increasingly compliant because of the building need that had been ignored since the walk in the rain.

With a sigh and a push of valiance the pink-haired shinobi shrugged out of the white cloth, kicked out of her chair and fell across him on his.

The boy took a breath at the sudden press of her hips against him as Sakura straddled his body.  
And as she leaned forward to kiss him, he caught the light smell of sweet flowers in her hair mixed with the damp dew of the rain and the smell of his own clothes.

Her hands pressed warmly at his bare chest and his skin tingled, longing for more.

Suddenly he didn't care of they were still in the chair or on the floor, which was suddenly the case as he tried to rise out of his seat, tangled her legs with his towel and ended up stumbling backwards into the ground with Sakura's body braced on top of him.

"Gods Sakura you're clumsy." he muttered, hastily drawing breath and yanking the towel away from between them.

It hit the T.V. square on the screen and draped itself over the corners.

"And you're overly-excited." She shot back with a giggle, her pink locks spilling over the curves of the black shirt she was wearing, tickling his chin as he mutely looked up at her.

Slowly he lowered his head to the ground. His feathery raven locks spreading out beneath him, willing his body to stay motionless even if he could feel the contours of her legs pressing to his hips.

"Hn." Sasuke suddenly said, giving the kunoichi holding him down a curling smile.  
"Guess that idiot, Naruto's starting to rub off on us."

"Not idiot. Cupid." Sakura murmured softly, lowering her lips to his.

"My shorts…" he said, just before her mouth could reach his. "-are wet."

"…So are mine." The girl whispered.

In the shadows of the room, they looked at each other - Sasuke's cloudy onyx eyes glinting like steel matching up to her warm, beautiful mint-greens.

At the other side of town, Yume was walking home, her thoughts still on her brother and his beautiful wife.  
She passed the closing stalls and gazed up at the dimly-lit paper lanterns swaying in the wind.

To be surrounded by the smiling faces of his two children, made her want to hurry up and start a family of her own.

The wind was biting cold in Konoha at this time of year, and she held the basket of dinner ingredients closer to the crook of her arm as she pulled her kimono more tightly around her body.  
And then she moved forward — at least for a moment — before she spotted the navy blue pants with ninja bandages in front her and abruptly jerked her head up, meeting the crinkly smile of her very familiar man.

"What is it this time? Scared or surprised?" Kakashi asked, his voice as mild as if he were striking friendly conversation in the middle of a crowded street on a bright, early day.

"Neither." She answered with a soft smile.  
"Ah, well," the jounin shrugged, "there will always be new people to victimize."

Yume gave him a startling grin, "I'm your victim. Tomorrow, I'll be scared, and then the day after that, I'll be surprised."  
"Sounds like a plan." The jounin deadpanned, to which the girl gave a tinkling laugh.

"Well, Ms. Yume, it's not wise for a young woman like you to be walking around this late into the night…"

"Oh," her eyes opened slightly, "is this street a red-light district? Are you on patrol out searching for a dangerous killer ninja?"

The jounin blinked at her, and then her face changed and  
she gave another laugh, her snowy, gray eyes glimmering as she continued to walk.

"I grow more convinced everytime I meet you, that you are indeed psychically-attuned…" Kakashi started.

Then as if something had caught the jounin's attention, his eye flashed and he turned sideways.

"Mm, what is it?" Yume asked, the laughter leaving her face almost immediately.

Kakashi's fingers gathered at his holster and he snatched a look at her, "Are you scared?" he asked, eyebrow lifting.

"Yes." The girl admitted - the look in her eyes slightly confused.  
And then she jerked because the jounin started laughing, quite suddenly so.  
And he turned to her with a small smile.  
"Then the next victim can wait."

"Hatake-san." She said dejectedly.

The jounin gave her a wink and started humming, one hand in his pocket as they continued to stroll down the dim, shadowed alley.

"Well, thank you." Yume's eyes lifted to meet his, and she gave him a slight bow, taking care to tuck the basket to her side as she did.

The jounin nodded once before he tilted his eye up and looked at her house.  
A single dimly-lit window.  
"Yume-san,..."  
_Do you have a boyfriend?_ Kakashi's mind wryly opted to ask.  
But out loud, the question became a different one.  
"Do you live with family?"

"Well, yes…" she turned her gaze to where he was looking, before nudging her basket at the door and smiling delicately. "I take care of my grandmother. Since brother got married, you see..." her voice faltered and she looked into the house before finally continuing  
"...He's been too busy with his own family."

"Mm..." the gray-haired jounin murmured, sensing a topic not easily discussed.  
Probing had never been his nature, and so the wizened-looking shinobi took a respectful step back as she fumbled for her needed set of keys and pushed one into the lock.

He didn't bother to ask anything else.  
Almost never did want to get too involved in anyone else's life.  
As long as something didn't concern him, then it was not anything imperative to think or know about.

_Yes, but does she have a boyfriend?_ the incessant voice in his mind, pressed.

_I have more pressing issues at hand._ the young jounin thought, before his eyes narrowed listlessly.  
He heard the doorway click open, and the yellow light from inside the house, spilled out into the night.

Turning to look down at her, Kakashi gave her his last smile for the night.  
"I shall look forward to the next time we meet… that is, tomorrow — and scared- ?"

Yume gave him one of her special laughs, the kind Kakashi was starting to realize, made him want to pitch witty remarks just so he could hear the sound again.  
"Goodnight, Hatake-san." the young village girl teased.

He bowed, the lips underneath his mask twitching to form a small smile.

"Goodnight." the jounin murmured.

But as the door clicked shut, he was already gone, a flash jumping up to the opposite rooftop.

When it came to carrying out his duties, patrolling, investigating, Kakashi never faltered.

In fact, he HAD been assigned on patrol to survey the streets, and he was indeed searching for a killer ninja.

The jounin stood there, pushing a hand to one hip.  
He listened for a moment at the nip of the wind in his peppered hair before he sighed and slung a bandaged foot up against an incline.

"It's not a good habit, following someone like me around." the jounin said lightly, but his visible eye held a terrifying weight as it focused stonily on the portion of a chimney a little way to his right.

A slight chuckle, as unnoticeable as the sound of the wind whispering in his ears sent a cold chill down his back…

Kakashi's keen eye narrowed and he waited, knowing full-well that the presence had been tailing him and Yume since she had teasingly labelled this part of town the red-light district.

But well now,... What was this?  
Even as he was asking the question, the feeling - whatever presence was there - was already starting to leave, like traces of dust swept away in the wind, with no particular direction, everywhere and then nowhere so swiftly the jounin couldn't have confirmed it.  
Dread spiralled through him, and he didn't need to see it...  
But whatever had been lurking behind the chimney was now completely gone.

_If someone can come and go so simply… nothing is safe anymore._

The 27 year old sighed and crouched low, trying to suppress the chills still racing along his neck.  
And then he raised a thumb to the edge of his mask, pulling it down enough to reveal the corner of his mouth.

He raised the thumb to his lip and bit down hard on the skin, not thinking about the sharp twinge of pain, but tasting the bit of blood against his tongue.

_This situation is bad._ Kakashi thought, and his hands tore fluidly through a series of familiar hand seals before he finally pressed his palms down over the ground and murmured, "Kuchiyose no jutsu."

There was a sound of an exploding cork flying from a champagne bottle, and then the small circle of smoke floating around the rooftop, amidst which, a little brown pug now blinked up at him.

Kakashi sucked sharply at his thumb, leaving his mask clinging precariously over the curve of his jaw, before extracting his latest book, the Icha-Icha Heaven book IV from his jounin vest-pocket and flipping it to page six where he recalled stopping.

The animal watched his long pepper-shags slip into his eye as the jounin shifted against a curve in the shingles. After he was comfortably draped over the rooftiles, the man finally spoke.

"Smell anything that's not supposed to be there, Pakkun?"

The dog yawned and scratched behind his ear, as equally indifferent as its user. And he sniffed at the air in a series of upward head jerks before turning to Kakashi with a look of boredom on his doggish features.

"Just a fish. A very big one that sadly, won't make good sashimi."

"Hah..." Kakashi drawled, closing his book resolutely before casting the keen-sniffer a look.

"Any idea where it's gone?"

The dog shook his head, "The smell stops here, behind that chimney. Beyond this roof, my sharp nose detects nothing."

"It must have been a high level bunshin." The jounin suggested, giving his small friend a considering look.

"Not many can create it…" the dog agreed, and then his eyes gave the shinobi a slightly depressed stare, "I guess you're about to drag me out on one of your little adventures again, hm?"

"Hmm." Kakashi pressed back, his watchful eyes now turned ahead.

Pakkun followed his summoners gaze and wondered if the jounin's answer had been a yes or a no.

"Here?"

"Nn…I-"  
"…Here?"  
"I don't-"

"For god's s-…Sakura, open wider."

The girl kunoichi's breath snatched and she pressed tighter to the head of the bed.  
"Sasuke-kun, it's embarrassing!"

His eyes shifted from her slightly parted legs to her face, "You said you wanted me to."  
Sakura tore her gaze away from him and bit her lip, which made the boy suddenly want to push her against the pillows and kiss her again.

"I…do." she whispered weakly. And her eyes tightly closed when Sasuke's slender fingers pressed against her inner thighs.  
"Then, dobe, let me." He said, his voice slightly edged, but still fairly patient.

"I-" she started, her eyes looking to his face, "…we're moving too fast."

"That's not what you said when you held this." He snapped, pushing his lower middle against her palm.

Her green eyes uneasily looked into his hard obsidian ones and for the first time she felt an increasing difficulty in talking to him.

"Nobody's ever… touched me there." Sakura whispered, all but stopping her hands from taking a pillow and pushing it to the maddening blush on her cheeks.

The Uchiha gave a low chuckle and his hand slipped higher, closer to the sensitivity, causing her to almost jerk her legs together.  
"Sakura, I already did touch you… there."

The tone of his voice caused her to shiver against him, and she could only watch, his lean frame coming closer.  
"And you liked it." Sasuke whispered.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, and Sakura found she couldn't say that she didn't like it.  
But her mortification was almost too much to handle.

"I liked it too." He provided, smugly.

"Sasuke-kun-" the girl said, her voice breathless.  
"Just like that." The boy cut her off, and one pale leg slipped between her thighs smoothly, keeping her from moving.  
"I want to hear it like that."

The kunoichi swallowed her mortification.

…Just like that.

And Sasuke's gaze lowered, his hand slipping up the curve of her thigh towards her center.

"Here?" he asked again, his voice subdued to a point of breaking.  
"Higher." Sakura bit out - more from the effort of holding herself open for him.

"Then… here." The boy whispered, his eyes already observing the evident reactions of her body as he stroked.

Under his ministrations, her hips jerked and she bit her lip to keep from making any sound at all.  
Perhaps it was because of the terror, and perhaps because she didn't want him to stop, distracted by her noise.

He was right where he should be.

And then his face came forward, and he kissed her on the mouth, down her chin, to the startling pulse he felt thrumming, fluttering, against her neck.

For some reason, he recalled the first time his class went through speed training, chasing a rabbit down the mini-forest near the academy.  
He'd been the first one to catch it — a tri-colored ball of fur that mutely looked up at him, its little chest rising and falling rapidly.  
Sasuke had curiously held it between his fingers, feeling the wild thrash of its pulse, even if it made no sound or motion in his hands.  
Fear — he knew was what made the animal that way.

"You're scared…?" Sasuke asked, pulling away.  
"Scared… I'm- I- I don't know…" the girl tried to answer, only feeling the odd pleasure, aware of it building, but unable to properly express it in any way.  
She didn't know how.

Sasuke would have told her about the rabbit, but one of her hands reached forward, slowly wrapping around his rigid member, which Sasuke had failed to note was painfully abandoned...

Instead a low release of breath escaped his lips.

He couldn't stop himself, his hips instinctively pushed forward and his jaws clenched as he tried to even out the motions of his hand on her.

And she was a fast learner, just as he was.  
Already Sakura read his body perfectly and a mutual telepathy was established.

She slowed the strokes on his heated member, and his fingers did the same to her.  
So she sped up, and even if it was difficult, he bit back a groan and gave her what she needed.

And then her body was pushing against him, shuddering in a way Sasuke recognized.

"Are you…?" he started, and she chewed at her lip, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough so he wanted to kiss the red, moistness of her pout.  
She gave a slow nod and pushed her hand at a faster, tighter pace on him. "Ah Sakura- that's- keep it there." He murmured encouragingly, pressing his palm more insistently into her warmth.  
Stroking just the way he knew she was silently urging him to do.

And before long she was starting to make those sounds, tight cries pressed to the back of her throat that Sasuke wished she would let out.

Her hands were also starting to falter on him, and his clouded eyes looked steadily into hers, "You know better, Sakura. Nothings gonna happen at a pace like that."

"It's hard…when you're - doing…" the girl's words trailed off and she gasped against him.

Despite his own displeasure, he raised his head and observed her.  
A part of him wanted to hold on to her, wanted to feel her give in to the heat, like he had.  
He just knew. She was so close.  
"You're right, it's still hard. So move your hand." Sasuke bit out, and then her lips pushed up to his mouth, and she did as he ordered.

And the pleasure came, spiking and streaking across his spine, into his stomach, building tighter until he leaned hard into her and reciprocated the build-up on her own swollen bud.

The relentless motion caused her to buckle against him, a soft cry tearing from her lips…

But he was just as far gone in desperation and he turned to her with a forceful look.  
"If you stop," Sasuke breathed harshly, "then I'll make sure we both get hell and I'll stop too."

"…Not gonna happen." The girl under him quietly tore out, and then he felt her hips buck against him, and the sharp tugs of her grasp on his member as the stirrings of her release came.

Sasuke couldn't take it.  
The heat spilled.

With a groan, burying into the crook of her neck, he said her name.  
And the whispered sound of his own name leaving her lips sealed their heated exchange.

His own wetness pressed into her hand, into the spaces and the skin between them, and then he felt her pleasure against his palm, quite different, but still somewhat the same… Jerking and pulsing until he heard a whimpered sigh escape her lips and he could do nothing but kiss her.

The intensity of the climax was fading, replaced with a satisfying kind of warmth that settled into a room that was gradually starting to come back.

Sakura slumped first, her breaths coming up short as her body stilled into the sheets, fingers pressed into his chest, her legs sliding with gentleness along his hips.

And then Sasuke gave in to his exhaustion, one arm carefully slipping under the curve of her back, and the other spreading out over her lower stomach, close to where he had pleasured her.

Their heated breath solidified in the air around them and seconds passed, noted literally by the loud tick of the clock beside the doorway.  
They didn't bother to move, for a long moment…

"The sheets are dirty." the Uchiha mumbled after a while.

"I don't care." Sakura blissfully sighed, and then she pressed her soft mouth to his shoulder and smiled.

_She..._

_Doesn't care._

After another brief, motionless silence, Sakura saw that he was looking at her…

And the girl had to pull her face a few inches away, too surprised at the never-before seen, boyish grin that was slowly spreading across his face.

"…How cute." The kunoichi blurted out after a stunned silence, unable to stop herself.

"Yeah. That's what they used to say." Sasuke said, now burying his face into the pillow beside him and promptly closing his eyes to end the conversation.


	22. RIGHT BEFORE

**Author's Notes:**

**The story isn't progressing as fast as I thought it would... which makes me think that ill be working on a lot more chapters. OR i could end it quick. Still thinking. :) **

**GAH!!! I HAD A HARD TIME WITH THIS CHAPTER!!! The whole time I was writing… it was just: what would Sasuke do? over and over in my head. ****I bow down to every great Naru-writer who manages to answer the question right every single time. **

**Also FORGIVE ME, I've decided to add someone new to our cast. His name – you shall find out here. **

**Make him feel welcome…:)))**

**I promise I'll try to make him as convincing a part of Naruto as I can. :D**

**READ ON!!!! And as always… guys… leave comments at the door, ARIGATOU love:D**

**  
**CHAPTER 22: RIGHT BEFORE

"25…26…27…. 28-29-30!  
Na, nee-san I'm coming to get you!"

Sasuke lifted away from the wooden closet and blinked into the startling darkness.  
His eyes caught at the glimmers of light outside the window of the Uchiha main house, and with an exhilarated smile he took off across the room, hearing the familiar creaks of the wooden planks under his bare feet as he ran.

Turning into the dimly-lit hallway, the little boy paused, breath catching in his throat, glancing left and right.  
An opened cabinet beside him told him Itachi had considered hiding in there, but had changed his mind.  
To his right was the small laundry room, and the boy reached out with his small arms, grasping at the richly-textured golden knobs.  
With a grunt, he pulled the twin doors open and peered inside, eyes flashing keenly across the piles of clothes, the sashes of ceremonial robes and the grand ancestral kimono tapered to the oak wall.

His sharp eyes scanned the room.

Every nook and cranny, every dark corner and space.  
No Itachi.

With a breath, the boy had turned around, flying down the hallway with thrill dancing in his eyes.  
The pantry, the kitchen, the servants quarters… all rooms furnished, and carefully attended to with blue and white candles and oil lamps.  
The glows of the flickering flames cast warm shadows that leapt across the room, and the young Uchiha paused before each doorway, grinning as his eyes swept around the tight spaces.

_Much too bright for aniki to hide here…_ he thought carefully to himself, and his mouth flattened out into a stubborn pout as he paused, bandaged feet planted firmly on the floor, hands spread out to his sides.  
Thinking and thinking…  
_Where could he be?_

In his mind, the small boy pictured his brother, tightly pressed against a dark corner or huddled up behind a massive clay pot, hiding up on a lean branch, concealed in one of the trees out in the garden or ducking into the cleaning storage in the backyard… traces of his quiet, secretive, smile and calmly attentive eyes still hidden behind the painted grinning mask of the ANBU tiger.  
The mask Itachi had not bothered to take off as he stepped foot into the house.

Sasuke's ears perked as he heard the light thumps against the walls, feeling the floor pulse under the soles of his feet as the tandem of sure-footed running struck out at him from the far left.

"Aha!" the giddy little boy whispered, and his short, spiky raven hair flew out across his pale skin as he whipped his head sideways towards the sliding doors leading into the family garden.

"I hear you, I hear you!" Sasuke couldn't help hollering, and he pushed the dividing doors open, flinging his body out into the cool, night air, deeply inhaling the fresh, smokiness of burnt wood and the sweetness of pine sap.  
The incessant call of the crickets swept around the lawn, and as the boy ran, he looked up into the sky and saw there the vast, twinkles of the meek stars winking at him.

With an excited laugh, Sasuke tore across the small boardwalk surrounding the edges of the garden, eyeing the bushes, scanning across the far-away hedges and trees.

Was that his brother's shadow moving against the flat, gray rocks beside the pond? Was it-

Something solid slammed into his right shoulder and Sasuke doubled over with a surprised cry, backside and elbows hitting joltingly into the wood, before he had regained his breath and blinked up at the shadowy-figure.

"Sasuke!" His father's aggravated stare tempered the exhausted features of his stern face and the boy jerked, looking meekly from him to the taller, broader-shouldered man beside him.  
Uh-oh.

"Oto-san…" the little boy murmured, lowering his eyes timidly, unminding of the locks of hair slipping down into his face.

Suddenly he felt too much like his irritating three year old cousins who lived in the house next to the mansion and the young Uchiha ignored the dull pain of his elbows as he crouched low, kneeling reverendly as he was taught to bow before his looming father.

"Stop your running around the house. Not at this hour, Sasuke. I will not tolerate it!"

"…to-san…" the boy's eyes blinked desolately at the ends of his father's robe, "I-I'm sorry..."

"The clan elders and heads of security are holding an important meeting in the grand hall. The hall two doors away, as I trust you should already know." Sasuke's father emphasized his last words deliberately, with a grand gesture of his blue silk komono. And the boy forced his chin up, already embarrassed for his lack of responsibility, eyes looking to the dimly-lit rooms behind the two adults.

He gave the visitor a shy, apologetic glance.  
And then he heard his father again.

"You are my son, and you will not embarrass me by acting like a wild animal in this house."

Sasuke couldn't miss the quiet intolerance and tenor of his father's voice, and he felt the shame bite at his cheeks when the older companion smiled sympathetically down at him.

"Yes… Oto-san…" the little boy averted his gaze and slowly pushed his legs up. "I won't-"

"Sasuke." A fluid murmur that held more solidity than his own shaking apology sliced across the thick atmosphere, and the young Uchiha turned his head just in time to see a pale hand reach out to his forehead and poke him.

Nothing but a mild push, but still there was a slight bite of pain.

"Tag. You're it."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed slightly and he looked up just in time to see Itachi peel off his ANBU mask and smile down at him.

"Nee-san…" he whispered, aware that their father was at pause, waiting for a cordial greeting from his older son.

"Come on, you're it." Itachi repeated, ignoring their father altogether.  
His earthy, black irises glinted in the darkness as he continued to stare at Sasuke.

"Itachi-" their father started, but the boy had suddenly tossed his ANBU mask at the freshly-cut grass, and was running off, feet pounding lightly into the floorboards, dark pony-tail whipping at the clan symbol on his back.  
"This is training too… Just like hide-and-seek." The older boy said evenly.  
His steps were lithe and graceful, a slow teasing dance, and the younger boy could only watch with dread as his brother lingered in front of the dividing doors to the grand hall.

Warily, Sasuke looked up at their father, who now had his jaw clenched and his attention no longer directed at him.

"Come on, Sasuke…"  
The small boy looked up at the coax of his name, catching the patient look in his older brother's shining eyes and the bare traces of a smile lingering from the tips of his mouth.

And Sasuke saw their father look away, mustering dignity as a cold counter to the older boy's ignorance.  
The man beside him laughed, shaking his head as he gave the stern Uchiha a consoling pat to the back.  
And then, with a final disapproving grunt from their father, the two men started walking away.

"Here…" the younger Uchiha saw Itachi slowly stretch out his open palm, pale against the glow of the moon, the tips of his fingers touching at the shadows and the light.

"I'll give you a chance to tag me…" His brother offered with a gentle smile, and the smaller boy's eyes widened with delight, before he ducked low and gave a playfully menacing grin, forgetting all about his father and the disapproval.

Only hearing his brother's voice now.

"Come get me."  
"Sasuke…"

_Catch me._

The bedsheets rustled and Sasuke's obsidian eyes opened slowly, eyelashes lifting against the stubborn strands of his raven bangs.

For a moment he watched the shadows stretching forlornly along the walls of the room, and in the darkness he heard the echoes of that voice, clear in his mind one moment, and then fading slowly, back into the past.

The painful sadness shook him and his head buried limply into the white sheets.

Another dream. Another memory.

It wasn't the first time the past had come to him in his sleep.  
It was only one of so very many instances.  
But that didn't ever matter, because every time it was just as painful.

The overwhelming sadness of seeing his brother, his father, alive, feeling the brief joy.  
_Why… Why… _

_Those days…  
…had been...  
_The thought trailed off.

Sasuke blinked into the white sheets and felt the emptiness. Felt the hollow beat of his heart and the cold pinprickling sensation choking at his breath.  
He felt the familiar agony of being alone.

But then… the feeling of soft skin pressed to his bare back, and Sasuke opened his eyes wider, tilting his head sideways to catch the arch of feminine arm, the slow brush of graceful fingers over his shoulder.

"Sakura…" he whispered into the shadows, before she had even lifted her head to gaze at him with her sleepy eyes.  
"What time is it?" she asked, voice breathy, almost ethereal from her sudden rouse.

Sasuke didn't bother to answer or even check.

Instead, unthinkingly his arms came away from his sides and he slipped them around her, pulling her body nearer to him, wordlessly, just clinging to her in the darkness.

His eyes closed, and he couldn't help pressing his mouth to her neck, holding on to her warmth… embracing her presence.

You… here… with me.

Tightly. Tightly.  
Don't let go.  
This memory was fresh and the pain was so impossibly deep.  
He couldn't be alone just yet.

_Just a little longer. Let me-_

"Sasuke…kun?" her voice broke into his thoughts. It sounded so warm, his name a tender request more than a puzzled question. And after a moment of silence, he exhaled and pushed away, finally looking up into her perplexed, shadowed eyes.

"It's time.. to bring you home." The raven-haired boy answered into the dark, unable to chase away the regret laced into his voice.

And as he pulled away from her, past the tangled sheets, sitting up at the edge of the bed. He thought about her words in the rain. About his second chance at life, about spending it trying to protect the people he now had.

And suddenly, the idea was sensible.  
Wonderful.

---

"I've told you many times Kakashi, I'm not the fighting kind."  
The small, brown dog teetered over one rooftop before following the light-footed jounin across another.

"Mm-mm… You have the nose. That's what I need." The shinobi said, eyeing the next street.

He pinched at the lowered mask clinging to his chin, pushing it up over his mouth just as the stubby pug landed beside him.

"Well?" the jounin bent his head down at his friend, silver eyebrow rising with inquiry. His small, furry summon looked up, flat snout and fleshy lower lip curling as he drawled, "Nothing."

"Ah…" Kakashi's eye closed wearily, "once the fish gets out of the village, it'll be out of my jurisdiction." "The thing could already be outside your jurisdiction." The dog answered, pressing a paw to his head and stroking at his bristling fur.

"Perhaps. But that 'thing' will have had to get past the jounin tower guards I've warned."

"You know," Pakkun continued, oblivious to his summoner's defense, "it's a funny combination of incence and the sea… cherry blossom bark and rain and aromatic pine…"

"The fish?" Kakashi slowly asked, forehead wrinkling with the oddness of the pug's observation. "No." Pakkun flatly stated, and the jounin dropped a hand patiently into his vest pocket as he waited for the dog to say more.

"Uchiha Sasuke with that…" the dog's leathery nose twitched as he turned his wide head up,  
"Haruno…- Haruno- ah, the one who uses the same floral green shampoo as I d-"

"-Sakura?" The jounin finished in question, unable to stop from shaking his pepper head and giving an incredulous flash of his eye. "Not likely. You must be mistaken." "Kakashi, my boy…" the pug muttered with a start, before turning sullenly to his jounin friend, "I am never mistaken."

And it was the truth.

Kakashi continued to look mutely at the little creature, eye widening ever so slightly when the dog gave another sniff and sniggered, covering his snout with the pink underside of his paw. "I can hardly tell the smells apart." The animal said after a moment with a comical raise of one fur-blackened eyebrow.

The jounin forced himself to stay composed as he looked down at the pug.  
"…Why is that?"

"Nnhah, Kakashi… they've been mingling… a bit much." The small dog answered, a rare doggish grin pulling at the usually dreary corners of his jaws.  
_Mingling...?_ And the team seven teacher blinked utterly dumbfounded, both at the dog and at his answer. He was, to say the least, stumped.  
And it had been years since he'd last known this feeling. The slackness of not knowing what to say or do, questioning how things could have turned out a certain absurd way from right under his nose…

His unresponsive, stoic Sasuke with a girl… not just any, but with… Sakura?

And he couldn't help leaning into the cement wall beside him to toss his head to a muffled bout of laughter - disbelief and irony, delight and fondess, all at one time. His boyish pepper-hair pushed down over the concealed side of his face as his eye crinkled, and he folded his arms into his stomach, pausing with a sigh and successfully subduing the sounds.

But looking down again at Pakkun's still raised eyebrow as the dog drew another deep nostril-flaring sniff wrung out another fit of laughter.  
And this time, the usually forlorn-looking dog rolled his full, dark eyes at the quaking jounin and gave a guttural chuckle.

For a moment the two friends clung at the red shingles of the high roof they were standing upon, stalking and patrolling forgotten, each trying to restrain their own chuckles and puggish snuffling.  
Trying hard to imagine the two together.

That seemingly uncaring boy "mingling" with that overtly-romantic girl.

Well… a shinobi's life is always full of surprises --- unexpected or otherwise.

---

"Samehada…" a pasty blue-gray hand stroked at the shuddering sword wrapped in thick, white gauze.

A pair of dull, white eyes focused at its humming broad tip before peering out sharply at the clearing in front of the thickly-foliaged narra tree. There was the West Gate of Konohagakure Village, only a few hundred meters away.

Only a small distance now, and he would finally be tasting the air again.

Kisame forced a current of water through his shark gills and faltered only a moment before drawing out the same breath and glaring past the small white bubbles floating in front of his face. It had been several years since he had been forced to utilize this technique again and his skills had degressed quite rapidly.

But water disguised almost everything.  
And he had no other option.

_That copy-ninja has a sense all too keen._

A sharp tug of the live sword clutched in his right hand, brought out the Akatsuki ninja's menacing grin. And he turned to address the sword.  
"You will get a taste of that fox demon's chakra… in time, Samehada."

The suiton jutsu rippled, transluscent along his body, encasing him and all traces of his terrible presence from any sensitive, prying ninja.  
And the shark lowered himself along the tree bark, feeling the hike of his thick black robes press against the surrounding water as he formed a blur of high-level seals with one able hand.

He held his fingers out in the final formation of the dragon and rumbled, "Tajyuu Suiton Bunshin no Jutsu."

Water flowed from the sword into the immediate space around Kisame.  
New water replaced the globs of liquid that were now slicing away from the encasement and trickling down all sides of the tree, soaking into the bark and dribbling towards the grass below.  
Hovering, balls of dew solidified in the air before smashing hard into the ground from the stretched out branches.

And all around the grassy field, puddles pooled from the brown soil, glistening in the stark shine of the full moon, coming alive and wobbling to the formation of human limbs.

Arms, legs, broad rippling shoulders, heads all tore into the air - a dozen water clones, hardening with guttural, wet sloshes into vivid replicas of the tall, pasty-skinned shark-ninja.

Kisame considered the jutsu formation rearing up into the open field and he slowly grinned.

"Let's see how fast you can catch on… Hatake Kakashi."

The ninja gave a careless jerk of his hand, and the clones leapt above the field, tearing out in opposite directions and disappearing like glistening slashes into the night air.

"I am so very curious to know…" the shark mused coldly and with a step, his form had lowered from the sturdiest branch of the narra and come forward into the glowing light of the moon, "-just how many shinobi I can wipe out before you get to me."

---

Sakura had her eyes focused along the cracks of the street.  
So close now to her house, she could see the railings of her small balcony shining in the dim light of the street lanterns.

Beside her, Sasuke inhaled, eyes seemingly closed in careless abandon as he walked.

With each shuffle of their feet, Sakura grew more and more miserable.  
Already, she wished to turn him back around, fall back into that bed, wind her arms around him and think of nothing.

So many years, she had stayed awake, lying in her room, entertaining all kinds of thoughts about her raven-haired interest.

And now that she was finally getting to hold that fantasy which she had deemed so long ago to be outrageous. She was having, to say the least, much trouble letting go. Being able to break through his tough exterior into the warmth inside made her ache to do it again and again.  
There was a time she didn't think she was capable of loving him any more than she already did.  
But with each day she saw him, with every new experience she was finding, her feelings had more and more room to grow.

Stronger and fiercer.

The certainty, the emotions brimmed and threatened until the flustered girl finally whipped her pink head around to look at him.

"I LOVE YOU." she blurted out, so suddenly that she couldn't help drawing back at the sound of her own firm voice. The boy's steady forward steps halted and slowly he turned his onyx eyes to her face.

The soft light danced along the bridge of his nose, and melted along the curves of his mouth, shadows meeting evenly to the tips of black hair tapering down his jaw.  
Beautiful and perfect.

Sakura's hands inched up the front of her black shirt, bunching up across her chest as she forced herself to look unwavering at him. Hoping she would have enough courage to keep her eyes on his.

But now, it was the boy who broke contact. His eyes lowered, and he turned his head away, wrenching her heart along with the motion.

"Sasuke-kun-" The girl's whispered voice hung suspended. She wanted... needed to hear a response. "Sakura," the boy said back without missing a beat, and he gestured at the house pointedly,

"This is your place, isn't it?"

The question dropped emptily into the pit of her stomach, and she bit back the dull pain as she gave a nod, "Mm."

"Then…" he eyed her, a stubborn harshness burying in his black irises.  
"Don't keep your parents waiting."

Sakura felt something stir under that look.  
Was sure she saw a straining sadness amidst that stoical cold.  
But Sasuke was giving her his very familiar expressionless stare, the kind that appeared on the surface irked and impatient, but was, in depth, strangely empty.

A look she knew he had honed to be unreadable and unpredictable to anybody.

"Sakura," the boy said in a slightly tempered voice, "stop staring like an idiot and get inside. They're waiting for you."

Suddenly, the girl kunoichi had figured out what seemed off, and his words from long ago echoed in her mind. _Solitude? You don't know anything about it. The pain of your parents scolding you… can't even compare to the pain of having no parents at all._

No parents at all.

Suddenly she wanted to hold him. Hold him for being so strong, for keeping the conflict and the pain of sorrow buried.

Sakura cast a look in the direction of her home, and an idea started to form. Before she knew it, she was already talking…

"Sasuke-kun, you haven't…- actually, we both… haven't eaten. So, you must be really hungry by now, right?"

"I'll find a place down the street." He said almost immediately.

"You don't have to. It's already 9 o'clock, but my parents have probably brought home left-overs..."

With a smile, she laced her hands behind her and stepped up to the illuminated porch, before leaning teasingly down at him.

"I'll introduce you to them." She provided with a delighted wink.

Sasuke's dark, aristocratic eyebrows drew together before pushing up, wrinkling his forehead adorably and giving him a charming, boyish look of uncertainty.

He continued to look at her that way, unable to articulate any kind of answer.

_No._ he wanted to casually drawl out, before turning away and walking off down the street.  
But yes, he discovered was what he really felt like saying and why?

That was still something that required more thought and reflection… though he supposed it had something to do with the warm, yellow glow reflecting through the wide windows, and the muffled sounds of an old radio playing slow-jazz from somewhere on the second floor.

As Sasuke hesitantly took in the cream-colored curtains of the chandelier lit room facing the street, he felt her hand on his wrist.  
And the gentle cajoling tug that he could have easily broken away from, now pulled him forward.

"You're wearing my shirt." The boy managed to remind her just as one of his legs got pulled to the welcome mat.

Sakura turned to him with her sprighty green eyes already prepared with an answer.

"I fell into the river… and you were there."

With a warm sigh, the girl's hand reached out beside Sasuke to what he saw was a crack in the corner of the wall, and after fishing about, she extracted the house key lodged inside, pushing it into the knob of the main entrance and twisting it open with a click.

"Tadaima!" the pink-haired shinobi called out, and with a bright smile she gave him a final teasing tug into the sitting room.

Immediately the warmth of the atmosphere surrounded him. And from the first doorway to the left, beside the wooden stairway, came the smell of sweet curry.

Sasuke knew he didn't belong here. And his mind struggled to turn him around, back towards the darkness of the street and the dreariness of Konoha wind-chill.

But his legs remained firmly rooted and he found himself waiting for whatever it was would happen.

The wait didn't take long.

"Sakura?" an exhausted female voice forced Sasuke's head sideways towards the stairway, which was now creaking with the weight of footsteps, each sound louder than the last, and closer.

"Mom? I brought…ah…"

Sasuke slowly eyed the girl beside him as she pushed her mouth to one side, in thought as to how she should continue.

"-A friend." The girl settled in finality, and the raven-haired boy let out a barely audible breath, more in relief than anything else.

It was enough of a troublesome thing that he was standing in the foyer of a girl's home this time of night.

"Well-now… Who is it? Ino-chan, is that you?"  
A periwinkle blue skirt shuffled along the banister and Sasuke immediately caught sight of a few familiar qualities: the same slim fingers with the same stretch of smooth pale skin, even the same slender form judging from what he was already seeing as Sakura's mother took the steps down the second landing.

"Sakura?"  
The young rookie's breath almost caught when the older woman finally pushed her head out from behind the banister, peering past the offending wall that was obscuring the main hallway from view.

Oh my…" Mrs. Haruno's sea-green eyes widened and one hand rose to hold back curly strands of pink hair from slipping into her face.

The raven-haired boy stared back with just as much internal shock, unaware he'd lodged his hands into his white shorts again.

Sakura's mother, undeniably so.

How could there be such an uncanny resemblance? It was almost unsettling.

Physically they could have passed as sisters, the same shade of green for eyes, the same smiling mouth.  
The only difference was the slightly longer face of the older woman, with fleshier cheekbones.  
And instead of Sakura's small, fine button-nose, Mrs. Haruno had the regal, elegant version that came with the years of maturity.  
Her hair was a darker shade of pink that tumbled down in curling waves instead of hanging transluscent and straight.  
But their movements and facial expressions were so much the same…

Of course, midway through the brief observations, Sasuke finally remembered his manners.

"Mrs. Haruno." The boy quickly chased out, gracing his words with a respectful bow that surprisingly felt like second nature to him.

One of the petty gestures, he supposed, that had stuck with him since his childhood days at the family compound.

"Uchiha… Sasuke…" The woman had her hands clasped across her chest as she acknowledged him and her voice cracked slightly with the weight of emotion when she lowered her head in a cordial bow of her own.

_Well,_ the boy wondered wryly, casting Sakura a brief look, _that saves me the self-introduction._

And then he stopped pondering all together as he turned to face Mrs. Haruno.

Her green eyes had been bursting with such happiness… But now, the woman looked almost about to cry.

And suddenly, Sasuke realized with bewilderment, it was likely she would.  
Her green jewel irises brimming with the traces of tears barely shed as she warmly looked at him.

"…Sasuke," she repeated, saying the name whole-heartedly, and the boy stood unmoving when her head lowered with another reverend bow and she sincerely whispered "…Arigatou."

_A-… Arigatou…?_

The boy's mouth opened slightly, and he turned to look at Sakura, who to his growing confusion, was smiling at him with the same look of gratitude on her face.

Then the older woman was past the stairs and walking towards them both.

And Sasuke was suddenly lost in slight panic, trying to figure out why her arms were spread out, and why she was finally sobbing openly, streaks of tears glistening along her cheeks.

But his distended thoughts left and the breath lodged with surprise in his throat as the older woman's arms came around him, enclosing him in a tight embrace.

"My daughter, that time-" She finally sobbed out, "…. It had been you who got to her first."

The boy lost all forms of grace, and he stood rigid as Sakura's mother wept; her arms encircling him closely.

No, he still didn't know why this was happening.  
His mind wasn't functioning with these foreign arms around him.  
What was Mrs. Haruno talking about...  
Matakeh- were all girls mothers this emotional?

"You helped save my daughter's life." Mrs. Haruno said, with a full nod of acknowledgement, "And for that I am eternally grateful."  
Her eyes were teary with conviction and suddenly, things were clear.

_Of course, the mission. In the woods with that hog. Idiot._

Sasuke's eyes almost rolled to the ceiling as he berated himself, but instead he forced himself to stare down at the carpeted floor.

"It was nothing…" the boy mumbled, giving Sakura a look as her mother pulled away from him.

"No," Mrs. Haruno held up one hand, as she shook her head and gazed at him.

"It was everything."

And the boy slowly looked up at her, into the familiar depths of green, understanding the truth of her words.

He knew.  
It was everything to him, at the time as well.

The thought was disrupted by a sudden rise in Mrs. Haruno's voice when she finally stepped away and turned to her daughter while hastily wiping at her damp cheeks.

"What is that shirt you're wearing??"

"Ah-" Sakura blinked, "I fell into the river…and…" the girl shinobi looked to Sasuke for assistance, and he resisted the urge to narrow his eyes at her as he dutifully provided the other half of the answer.

"I just happened to have an extra shirt."

"Oh, Sakura, goodness…" her mother snapped, stepping away and distractedly slipping into a pair of wooden clogs that had been placed near the kitchen entrance.

"…And you forgot your dress?" the older woman further questioned, her voice rising sharply.

The girl shinobi was quick to extract the wet, folded up garment she'd tucked into her pine-green shorts even when her face was blushing profusely.  
And Sasuke managed a stiff politeness as the older woman turned to them, one hand propped to her hip.

"Well," she continued, eyeing her daughter, "your father is upstairs working on his medical papers for the hospital, as usual."  
She cast an exasperated look up the stairway before sighing and apologetically tilting her head at the raven-haired boy.

"But I will call him down at least to see you, Sasuke-kun."

The boy gave a small smile, partially for the sake of being well-mannered and also because the honorific sounded just as it would if it came from her daughter.

"Have you eaten, dear?" she suddenly asked, eyebrows drawing together in concern.  
"We have extra curry, still steaming in the kitchen."

"Actually, mom," Sakura piped up with bright eyes, "I was hoping we could invite Sasuke-kun to stay for a late dinner..."

"If it's no trouble." The boy provided slowly, eyes now looking up at the older woman.

"Of course not, dear!" Mrs. Haruno exclaimed with an even brighter smile.  
And with a toss of her curling, pink locks, she waved a manicured hand towards the warm, fragrant kitchen, jovially ushering both genins towards the direction of the room.  
"Come on inside. Sit!"

---

"Team shadow DANCE, status report."  
"Shadow DANCE, all four soldiers here and accounted for, captain."

"Team shadow SHURIKEN?"  
"Yosh, Shadow SHURIKEN here and yeap- looks like we're all still breathing, sir."

"Noted… And, who is this?!"

"Second-in-command, captain. This is Alfa Wolf-2."  
"Damn it Alfa Wolf-2, stick to the codes."  
"Oh Yessssir, Grand Cap'n, Sir."

The brown-haired ANBU leader rolled his eyes as he heard the droll response in his ear, and he tugged the head-set down to his neck, scanning the forests from behind the slits of his painted mask.

Really.  
Just because he was younger than all of the subordinates on his three teams.  
They go around disrespecting him, like shit.

"Keska- sir," the sound of his name crackled with static from the unattached ear-piece and the commander sighed, pushing the mouth piece up to his chin, "proceed?"

"This is Solo Tiger-1 from team shadow DANCE. Our third team, shadow LEAF, is currently near the border of earth country and they've just checked in with a report. They... think they're on to something, captain."

"A 'something alive and trying to flee' or a 'something dead and left behind'?" Keska asked as he leaned against a tree.

"Ah… If I may, sir, I think it's the former?" the hesitant voice crackled.

"You're not sure?" the ANBU captain asked, spotting the other approaching team and holding up his hand to halt them.

"No sir." Solo Tiger-1, from the ear-piece slowly admitted.

"Affirm it." Keska flatly said into the headset and he turned to the direction of the four ANBU soldiers waiting in the shadows.

"They can't have gone far. Shadow SHURIKEN, check the northwest coordinates I've set. One of them is fucking astute with his genjutsu so every odd-looking tree, every conspicuous mud puddle, all the godamn rainbow-colored owls and fat, prancing bunnies in this side of outer Konoha… I want your wolf-noses on it. Clear?"

"Crystal, cap." The team leader replied, barely holding back a snort, and with a signal of his fingers the four soldiers had taken off into the trees.

"Team shadow DANCE…," the ANBU captain called, picking at a stray wire sticking out from his communication set.

"Awaiting commands, captain."

Keska scratched idly under his vest as he turned his head towards the direction of Konoha and the captain mentally noted the divisions of the groups.

Team three, at the border of Earth and Leaf.  
Team two, checking out northwest outer Konoha.  
And shadow DANCE, team one...  
Mm.  
Yes, they were enough.

"Team shadow DANCE, you tigers take the northeast coordinates. Search it out well."

"Understood, captain." The electronic voice, he assumed was still Solo Tiger-1, spiked.

"Both teams, contact me at base camp… I want a full report of that 'something alive and trying to flee' from shadow LEAF by 11 o'clock tonight. I'm going back to Konoha." the weary captain adjusted his ear-piece and hoisted himself up to a tree.

_Let this be it. Let it be him.  
Itachi._ The captain shook his head as he rolled back his shoulders,  
_You screwed up sonuvabitch... _

_Damn do I need a hot bottle of ass-kickin sake._

And the thought was so appealing that the crass captain couldn't help but smile.

He gathered a bit of chakra to keep from slipping even if he didn't want to use any more.

He knew it. A fact that seeped into his bones, it wasn't the first time.  
His chakra tank was almost empty, after all it had been - what -three days since his last full meal?

His leg muscles were already screaming after 52 hours of relentless hunting and ordering about.

Now, the trees were wet from the rain, and one false slip, Keska knew, could be death.  
Then he'd have to forget about the personalized inscription on that gray cenotaph he loved so much.

_Yep._ the young ANBU commander thought, _When I'm old and gray, and still kicking ass on the field. I'm goin' down with style._

With that as a final thought, Keska kicked off from the ground and brushed into the trees.  
Nothing but a silent blur travelling at the speed of sound.

**SO-ooo... now we know Keska! YAY!!! --fake applause-- he'll be joining our little fiction trip. Don't throw tomatoes or anything like that at him! Please… :P**

**Sasuke: DO throw tomatoes. I luv em. --does a little dance lost in his own disco world--**

**Naruto: HAH! --points disgustedly at Sasuke-- OOC! OOC! THAT'S A CRIME HERE!**

**Me: yeah, --mutter-- I try to avoid that.**


	23. CUT DEEP

**Author's Notes:**

**harhar. A little hurried in the pacing of events. Sorry, I've been so busy and this is the chapter that went through the shortest editing ever. :P Keska (if you read the first chapters), first appeared outside Sasuke's apartment. His character was a little vague, so I've given him some perspective. I still hope Sasuke seems like himself, after all he is the star. Supposedly. :D  
I hope I've done okay. Thank you to everyone! COMMENTS!!! WAhhh... mwah. Till next.**

CHAPTER: 23 CUT DEEP

"I don't know. I just feel … funny."  
The jounin with curly black locks flexed his stubby fingers as he worriedly glanced at his smaller companion.

"That's because even the copy ninja is concerned about it. Don't confuse something psychological with your shinobi sensitivity."  
The other ninja with keen, dark purple-tinted eyes focused intently at his nervous comrade, and he casually blew a lock of midnight blue hair away from his face before extracting a pack of cigarettes from the front of his vest and popping it repeatedly against his palm.

"Hey, that's an insult. Are you telling me it's all in my head?"

The wooden tower planks gave a groan as the bigger shinobi leaned back against the railing and looked up at the stars. In silence, he watched the clouds of cigarette smoke float in front of his eyes as his comrade expelled a breath.

"You should be looking down. Not up. Last I checked, our enemy can't fly." The smaller jounin reminded him, quirking one eyebrow and flipping the lit cigarette idly around all five fingers before his wrist snatched up and he took another slow drag.

"How do you do that?" the black-bobbed jounin narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his companion's hand.

The other shinobi closed his eyes and settled himself back with a smile, "Its-"

A rustling in the bushes right below them made the two  
men snatch into attack position, and the smaller shinobi's purple eyes sharpened as he caught a flash of black, "That's-"

And the statement was abruptly cut short when a small piece of metal whistled past his face, making its way down to the shape behind the trees.

"Atom!" the purple-eyed jounin harshly said, turning to see his impulsive partner's hand already lowering before a voice unexpectedly erupted from below, snatching his gaze down towards the shadows folding into the edge of outer Konoha's woods.

"Oi! What is this some sort of ninja action-reflex exam? What the fuck, guys!"

The smaller jounin, suppressed a groan when the form stepped out from the trees, one hand already raised with the glinting shuriken between his fingers.

_Shit_

The ANBU captain stood with one hand pressed to his hip and another dangling the weapon carelessly in the air.  
The painted mask of the tiger was good enough to inform the two jounins even on its own of the unspoken rank and authority.

Besides, who wouldn't miss the conspicuous foul-mouth and the sloppy posture?

The smaller shinobi, with his half-finished cigarette still dangling from his lips didn't have to wonder why the captain's seniors never hesitated in handing him the highest position when they finally retired.

Admittedly without much debate, the man was born to be the most revered ANBU commander of all three Senior Soldier troops. His skills, especially with speed, held no room for question.

The jounin knew.  
Because he'd been a spectator at the chuunin exams, and it wasn't so long ago that he couldn't remember.

…Not like he would ever forget something like that  
anyway.

Leaning his hands into the railings, just looking down at the half-concealed form swaggering lazily in the shadows, he was ironically humbled.

"Keska-senpai." The keen shinobi murmured with a reverend bow of his head, before turning to his companion with a dissaproving glare that showed a level of high offense.

"Senpai? ... Dumb-ass, I'm twenty-one years old. Don't make me feel like I'm much older."

And the ANBU captain whipped off his mask, his ruggedly-handsome features irritated, chocolate-brown eyes now shooting straight towards the bulkier-bodied shinobi staring apprehensively down at him.

"You." Keska pointedly called, nudging up with his chin at Atom.

"Acting on impulse like that will get someone killed."

And the pudgy-faced jounin hung his head, beady eyes  
lowering as he gave an even lower bower than the shinobi beside him.

"Eventually, it'll get you killed too." The ANBU commander stated with a jerk of his mouth.

The two jounins barely had time to step back when the captain had already disappeared and landed cleanly on the railing framing the tower.  
Wind pushed grandly at the messy locks of his hair, and the red bandana tied around one lean, muscular arm lashed out, dark crimson against the shape of the moon behind them.

With a careless tilt of his head, he held up the metal weapon and flicked his wrist, sending the shuriken slamming into one of the four skinny posts holding up the tower's small, circular roof.

It only barely missed the bigger shinobi's right ear and he gave the ANBU commander a wary, fearful eye before bowing his head and speaking in a low trembling voice.

"I'm t-terribly sorry, Captain Keska. Terribly sorry. It shall not happen again."

"Damn right it won't." the captain muttered waving them further backwards with one gloved hand and jumping down to the wooden floor in front of them.

As if the ANBU commander hadn't just been directly attacked, he sighed and slouched against one corner, an arm against the railing and one foot slinging casually out in front of the other as he listlessly regarded them.

"Coffee much…? Mr-Jounin-what's-your-name?"  
The bigger shinobi felt the nudge of his comrade on his beefy arm before he jerked his wide eyes up at the captain.  
"Me, sir?"

"My head is looking in your direction, isn't it." Keska rhetorically pointed out with a dry smile.  
"And-" The captain indolently waved his finger left and right, gesturing at the grand space encompassing the jounin's bear-like frame. "What with all that ground you're standing on, I can't be looking at anyone else."

"Atom… Sir Keska. That's my name." the bigger shinobi said, not bothering to hide the insulted look on his face.

"Mm. Atom." the commander nodded slowly, before his chocolate eyes captured the leaner shinobi's violet ones.  
"Oxy-moronic… And… you are?"

"Daisuke, sir…" the smaller jounin said, cigarette dipping up with the movement of his mouth as he grinned at the captain's odd humor and play of words.

"Daisukehh… good. Well, it's great you two are so wide awake, but for fuck's sake-"

"Please... Captain Keska-"  
The ANBU commander turned his head to Atom, who had taken a step forward in hesitant defense to his scolding.

"We can't help being a bit jumpy... It's just, we were told by the copy ni-… I mean Hatake Kakashi… to be on the look-out for someone suspicious expected to be leaving the village."

Keska flipped a gloved palm up at him and his brown eyes flattened as he spoke.  
"…Suspicious is a helluva big word… explain."

"Well…" the jounin's beady black eyes focused on him, "Hatake-sempai called it a 'thing'… 'A potentially-violent thing.'"

As Atom was speaking, the captain had slowly started to push away from the post, his stance straightening.  
Keska's face took on a grimness that came with the mental preparation of encountering a threat and the ANBU captain forgot all about the exhausted state of his body as he darkly pondered.

Hatake Kakashi.

Well, shit a brick it just had to be him.  
No room for doubt, even.

That man had always possessed a sixth sense for predicting and anticipating things… even back then, when they'd still been working together as a team.

Over time, Keska had learned to trust him, eventually even began to rely on the accurate receptivity.  
And it had saved them many times. Had provided an escape, an opening, a solution during all those moments Keska thought they were pushing up against an indisputably dead-end.

When that man suspected something was amiss, something was bound to be.  
And when he modestly called something 'potentially violent,' it was actually closer to 'potently violent.'

Well, that fact alone was enough to chill the ANBU captain to the bone.

Keska idly thumbed the hilt of the katana strapped to his  
waist, before he finally nudged his head at them.

"If copy-boy says it's so, then it's just that: So. Guzzle a few buckets of coffee. It's bound to be one fuckin' long night."

The two shinobi glanced hesitantly at him, and the captain couldn't help snorting at the looks on their faces.  
He lowered his head with a short laugh, traces of the slight stubble lining the tip of his chin and curves of his jaw, visible now in the shine of the moon. And then his bright brown eyes settled over them.

"Kill wisely, dolts." Keska said with a grin, giving them both a lazy salute before he jerk his head causing the tiger ANBU mask to fall back down over his face.

He'd been doing that a lot lately.  
Funny, what boredom could do to you during uneventful night watches in the  
forest.

A lean muscled arm reached out, hand slapping over one wooden pillar.

And the brown-haired captain swung himself up over the railing, landing and crouching low, looking down at the hundreds of rooftops around Konoha.

Atom and Daisuke stood watching the lean captain's back, before the painted mask again tilted sideways at them.

"Kill wisely." Keska repeated, and then his voice lowered with unexpected conviction, "-Or at least get killed doing something wise. Now, I'ma have a little chat with copy-boy. Jia na."

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone, the swirl of wind and leaves tailing.

After a moment, Atom narrowed his beady eyes into the night and crossed his big arms.

"Didn't know he was such an ass-" He mumbled sourly, "that kid."

"Shut it or 'that kid' might just kick YOUR ass." Daisuke said, with a sadistic grin.

Then the purple-eyed jounin took one last drag on his cigarette, pushing the hissing butt into the metal surface of one gloved hand before tossing the dead stick away into the night.

* * *

"Are you sure it's not just the coming rains? A storm perhaps?"

"Kakashi…" the small summon managed a look of irritated offensiveness. "I know what rainfall smells like, and this is not it."

The pepper-haired jounin hovered along the ledge of a dango-stall's roof before jumping down to the ground.

Undeniably, there was something going on. He could feel the tension burying into his nerves. Feel the familiar prickling sensation creep up his neck and spine.  
And when his heart was accelerating like this against his chest, his subconscious was telling him it sensed hostility.

"Yes, something's not right." Kakashi started, before turning to the little pug, "I just wanted to make sure it was our target you were smelling and not another worthless — or suprising - something."

The jounin held out a gloved hand to his small friend cowering on a low tree branch, and his one eye crinkled in its gentle, assuring way.  
"Come on Pakkun." Kakashi lightly cajoled with a tilt of his pepper head.

The blue-vested dog couldn't resist the jounin's charming personality, and he wiped his front paws gingerly against each other before leaping down into the jounin's outstretched hand.

Kakashi drew Pakkun against his vest, dangling him over the crook of one arm, and the dog only barely started to nestle comfortably into the body's warmth when the intense smell of sea, cold blood and pure hostility filled his nose.

The dog jerked and opened his mouth but the jounin cut him off with a low murmur enough only for the summon to hear.  
"This is a bunshin. Go when I drop you."

The dog's eyes widened in surprise.  
The skill Kakashi possessed in evenly distributing his scent and body heat.  
It had fooled even him.

And then the jounin bunshin had dropped the summon onto  
the dirt road and the pug finally saw it.  
Their fish.

The black robe with cloud-like crimson patterns rustled in the wind as the aquiline-featured shark-man shot forward. An impossibly large broad-sword wrapped in gauze gripped firmly between his pale hands.

Pakkun yelped and scrambled away, shooting up into the nearest rooftop where he pushed himself into a crack in the shingles.

Samehada's blunt, thick tip shot forward, pushing sharply into the jounin's vest.  
And the Kakashi-bunshin let out a very convincing cry of pain as the sword tore through his chest with a flickering glow of blue.

And then the jounin-clone was folding into the floor with Samehada protruding from its chest, slamming into the ground before exploding into a cloud of smoke.

Kisame stood there, his transluscent eyes wide with lust to kill, and with a frenzied chuckle he swung his sword up against his shoulder.  
But a sharp, hissing noise close to his ear made him jerk his head sideways in surprise at Samehada's broad tip.

A tag had been slapped over the gauzy edge, the exploding curse already burning more than halfway through.

"Shimata-" the shark-nin had barely finished growling when the explosion was activated, blowing off the sword and the Akatsuki member's head with the impact, sending water slapping into the walls and trees surrounding the street.

Kakashi watched from the darkness, a few feet away, as the glistening water-clone hovered shakily for a moment on its one stable leg before finally collapsing backwards, and sloshing noisily into the dirt road.

The jounin's eye narrowed darkly and he pushed away from his position, disappearing in an etch of lines and reappearing in the alley in front of Pakkun.

The pepper-haired shinobi looked up at his cowering summon, who was then giving him a threatening look, despite his fear, and Kakashi pushed a hand behind his head and sighed.

He had to make the bunshin look authentic didn't he?

Pakkun seemed to forget that summons could disappear whenever there was a mutual agreement to do just that.  
The dog seemed to remember it then, and his eyes gave a dead look as he mouthed the words.

The jounin could read lips, and he nodded in permission, turning away from the dissipating smoke as the dog departed.

"Hatake Kakashi! Come out, come out wherever you are!"  
The jounin looked up at the sky, just as another black-cloaked form shot past the rooftop above his head.

His eyes widened when another three water clones brushed past the first one.

_Heading for the center of town._ the elite ninja concluded to himself, and his mind worked to figure out the situation before the answer finally jolted him.

_Distraction. The real one is trying to escape._

Kakashi leapt up to a rooftop, and then jumped higher towards a building.

Standing there, against the tug of the wind, he closed his eyes and sharpened his senses, remembering the water clones unique chakra signature in his mind. He could feel it, as he looked out across the town and noted the domination of hostility.

He knew. There were more than just those five.

* * *

"There." Keska's face snatched down as he spotted the black shape shifting in the shadows.

The movement was fast as it flew past the houses.  
Shit in tarnation.

"Guess that sake will have to wait." He gruffly said, flicking at the sharp sword from his holster and tossing it up into the air.

He grabbed it with his right hand and leapt from the post he was standing on, hurtling into roaring wind, down to the ground.

30 feet…. 20…. 10… 5…

Keska's mental counting stopped as he landed with a light thump into the dirt, and the swift commander shot forward in the beginnings of soundless pursuit.

Thank god, his clan was a speedy one. He was making good time.

Two seconds and the ANBU commander had leapt forward, solid foot connecting hard with the neck of the figure in black right when the man was about to jump from a wooden cart.

There was only brief surprise when his highkick broke into slick wetness and tore right through what should have been flesh.

Keska watched the decapitated head wobble and turn into gelatinous water before it spilled out across the ground followed by the rest of the liquid torso.

"Meh. So much for interrogation." Keska rolled his eyes under his mask.

And then the thump of very familiar chakra filled him for a moment, and the captain gave the messy puddle of water one last wry glance before tearing off into the night.

* * *

Silence. Just silence.  
Sakura's hesitant gaze swiveled from her raven-haired interest to her father and back again.

The boy had his hands tucked in their usual prayer clasp under his chin, and he looked up indifferently at the man as Mr. Haruno focused scrutinizing eyes at him from across the silent table.

"Are you dating my daughter?" Sakura's father asked his bushy salt and pepper mustache sweeping along his lips as he bluntly spoke the question.

"Father!" Sakura and her mother declared at the same time.

"What!" the older man snapped, as he leaned back into his chair and tossed his hands up, "I want to know."

The green eyes of Sakura's mother flashed as she noisily lowered a plate of steaming sweet buns in front of her husband, shooting him a disapproving look before stalking off towards the stove.

"That boy rescued your daughter. We should be happy he's here."

"Yes, yes." Her husband waved his hand intolerantly.  
"I didn't say I wasn't happy. I just want to know!"  
Sasuke looked down at his plate of curry, and calmly removed his hands from the table.

The boy disliked lying. He was usually so blunt and straightforward, he'd outrgrown the childishness of not speaking the truth.  
He hated the cowardice that came with running away from problems and making things seem better than they were.

But it wasn't his right to provide that answer.  
And maybe he didn't know, himself.

So the Uchiha said nothing.  
Ignoring the question and turning his face to Sakura.

"Where is the bathroom?" he asked.

The pink-haired shinobi looked into his eyes, and Sasuke saw the slight makings of a flustered blush on her cheeks.

"Down the hall." Her hair fell across the sides of her  
face as she lowered her gaze to her hands.  
"The door next to the piano."

"Okay." The raven-haired boy said, rising silently from his chair and stuffing his hands into his pockets as he slowly walked out of the kitchen.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the young girl's hands slammed lightly into the table and she turned to her father, who had his eyes closed and was now lighting his pipe.

"Dad, please! Don't embarrass me in front of him."

The man looked up at his daughter and he sucked on the wooden piece before exhaling the smoke with a sigh.

"Little flower. I know, you've liked Uchiha Sasuke since the year you've transferred to the academy, its only right-"  
"… Please," the kunoichi gasped with wide eyes, "don't call me that in front of him."

"Father, onegai…" His wife looked at him with begging eyes as she folded up her mustard-colored apron and sat across Sakura.  
"Just be a little more courteous. Even if you do wish Sakura and him to be-"

"Mom!" the girl harshly apprehended, and her red face lowered hopelessly into her hands.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes travelled up the flower patterns of the walls, and over the upholstery of the couches.

He couldn't help thinking of his aunt and uncle's garden. With the showers of colorful buds and bonsais, Zen sand patterns carved with rakes over the ground and the white  
butterflies flitting along the bamboo.

He'd always visited during the weekends, losing himself within the trees and ponds for hours until his uncle would burst through a bush and startle him with a tray of steaming miso.

His head tilted up at the bamboo poles set against a mirror in the corner of the living room, and his onyx eyes caught sight of the grand piano to far left.

…And the doors on each side.

_Which one is the bathroom?_  
It should be smaller.

Sasuke made his way over to the more slender door frame and slowly eased it open.  
He caught sight of a princess bed draped in floral sheets and a dresser to one side.  
The room smelled like her.

He would have closed the door if he didn't see the pictures taped to the mirror.

His pictures.

* * *

"So it's agreed upon. Okay? Mom, dad? No mention of the word boyfriend, date, going out. Please,…"

The girl clasped her hands to her chest and bent her head beseechingly as she glanced at each of her parents.

"Just treat him nice with respect."

"How about 'Sasuke-sama, please consider having a future with my daughter?'"

Sakura gave her father an incredulous stare, and his moustache rose with a sly grin.

The handsome man wiggled his thick, graying eyebrows at his daughter and smiled.  
"The nice treatment and respect, ne?"

"Oh, stop it." Sakura's mother slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

She folded a manicured hand under her chin as she looked at Sakura's flustered face, "Don't worry dear, your father was smart enough to become a leading surgeon, wasn't he? He won't cause any trouble."

_

* * *

_

_What? I don't remember doing that._  
Sasuke's eyebrow rose as he looked at a small photo of him as a child.  
His eyes danced in half-moons with his nose buried in a blueberry, strawberry snow-cone.  
And Sakura was beside him, hands clasped to her chin, her light green eyes dancing with affection as she blissfully gazed not at his cone, but at him.

His gray-tinged eyes lowered to the many other photos and newsletter cut-outs.

It lined a whole one side of her mirror.  
And it was all him…  
Winning the oral competition, wearing the gold medal in the seven-skill marathon, standing in the middle of his rowing team with a scowl on his face and everyone's arms around him, carelessly holding up his rookie-of-the-year certificate…

Sitting in class with his head looking sharply out the window…

Walking to the fish-ball stand with Chouji?

He couldn't remember doing that, either.

A smirk tugged at his lips as his gaze wandered over to  
the right side of Sakura's dresser where there were only two photos at the bottom left.  
One of Sakura's head turned sideways, lips puckered and his yearbook photo taped beside it, just enough so it would appear she were about to kiss him.  
And the other photo, framed in baby-yellow beside it… Team seven.

He had the same one, atop his cabinet at home.

Strangely, as Sasuke pulled away from the table and quietly closed the door to Sakura's room behind him, he wasn't surprised with what he'd seen… didn't feel the expected anger from the violation to his privacy, or the repulsion from her obsessive tendencies.

In fact, he realized, as he opened the wider door and caught a glimpse of the ceramic toilet bowl inside, he was flattered.

But more than that, he was genuinely happy for the first time in years.

Happy that he had a silly girl who loved him as much as  
she did, and happy that he liked her back.

* * *

"Where is the real you…?" Kakashi's breath was straining against his mask, one gloved hand moved up to push at a deep cut across his left shoulder where one of the clone's broadswords had sliced him.

The eight sinister figures only looked mutely at him and Kakashi jumped when one of them swung out fast with his sword, smashing it into the ground where the jounin had been standing.

The tip of the sword glowed blue and the jounin felt his left leg weaken slightly as he landed a few feet away.

He'd figured it out after killing two other water clones. The sword's specialty was that it consumed chakra.

He'd managed to avoid all but one direct blow. But even from two feet away the sword sucked at your energy system.

Kakashi knew he didn't have much of a choice.  
He had to read the movements to kill the opponent.

His left hand rose to pull his forehead protector up and the jounin barely managed a duck as another clone shot out at him with a swipe of his leg.

Another broadsword came from the side and the jounin twisted in quick somersault, dodging another vertical slash from yet another clone and pushing a firm fist deep into the bunshin's nose, feeling nothing but the caving wetness and the sloshing collapse of water around his toes as he jerked his body away.

Kakashi pushed himself up, staring now into the face of another grinning shark-nin.

And the jounin smiled underneath his mask as the Sharingan in his left eye opened and started its ease of familiar slow sweeps in circumference.

A growl from the pasty-skinned opponent in front of him and the jounin saw it.

If the attack wasn't in the middle of town he'd have used a handful of his 1,000 techniques.  
But greatness was a double-edged sword and before yourself, you should always place the precious people first.  
He couldn't risk damage to Konoha, even if it meant his life.

He ducked as the sword lashed out and struck with a powerful leg sweep, breaking through the bunshin's ankles and causing the waves of jutsu to double over backwards.

Six more to go.

The Sharingan flashed, dots sweeping in jutsu copy, as  
the water clones started another approach.

One dashed out towards the left, another ran for the right, both sides swinging a broadsword at him at the same time.

There was a crunch, much like autumn leaves and sea shells breaking as the two swords collided and Kakashi slid himself backwards, head slightly reeling as his gaze focused on the line of dust he'd kicked up.

Just as he suspected, the two broadswords glowed blue, consuming his chakra.

The jounin could see the ethereal light beyond the swirls of dirt.

His hands whipped out two shurikens and Kakashi sharply tossed them out, both stars flying straight towards the two bunshin foreheads.

The metal weapons slammed into solid skin before sinking into the sudden pools of water and the jounin pushed one hand up in an activation seal, anticipating the move.

The ninja-stars burned orange and within a second the clone to the left exploded into water followed by the showering detonation of the other from the right, the puddles of both flooding out into the cement over the ground.

_If this keeps up, I won't have enough chakra for the two missions._

Just as the thought left his head, he saw blue-skin in front of him and the menacing flash of a bunshin's eyes as it hoarsely murmured "Got you."

Kakashi reflexively brought a hand out sideways and the metal over his glove collided hard with the broadsword. For a moment he cringed, trembling with the effort of holding his fist up.

This man was strong to have clones who were so capable.

The gauzy-sword released a magnetic sound and the whole length of it glowed satisfactorily.

Immediately the energy left him, and the jounin's knees hit the ground.

The broadsword came slamming down.

It hit rubble and a crack stretched out across the road, as Kakashi pushed his body sideways with a roll.

"This is bad." He panted, feeling the noticeable change in his body as he struggled to raise himself.

And then the same bunshin was flying towards him, the broadsword held straight out, and Kakashi readied himself in attack stance.  
Closer, closer.

His eyes widened as another blur of black settled in front of him and then the bunshin bubbled a groan, spilling like a waterfall down to the ground.

A familiar, lean form stood in front of him, katana held out, glinting in the moon's pale light.

"Oi, copy-boy…" the voice droned.  
"Age getting to you already, man?"

"Keska." The jounin looked up at his friend and the ANBU captain remained motionless, his back turned to him.

One of Keska's hands yanked at his tiger mask, sliding it  
up now to the messy brown locks of his hair.

"The sword…" Kakashi tightly said pushing a hand to the cut across his shoulder as it pulsed with hot pain.

"It takes away chakra. Be careful."

Keska turned his head to the side, frustratedly spitting out a mouthful of blood, and the pepper-haired shinobi's eyes widened slightly.

"I very well fuckin' know that now." The captain said.

The jounin's eyes focused on the ground in front of the ANBU commander, and he watched the increasing pools of blood as they slithered down from the soldier's black sandals.

"Fuckin' assholes." The ANBU commander muttered, before he disappeared in his trademark speed and slashed at the three other bunshins hovering a distance away.

The katana swiped clean across all three heads and the pools dribbled into the ground as the captain landed.

"How many more of these dipshits you think there are, copy-boy?"

"I don't know." The jounin said as he briefly eyed his friend before staring out into the empty street and down at the wet puddles glimmering over the ground.

And then the captain turned to him, and Kakashi finally saw the extent of his injury.

The whole front of his vest was seeped in blood.

A deep, gaping hole from the broadsword punctured into the flesh of his chest where the black material appeared ripped.  
Dark cloth mixing with skin and raw flesh, the stark crimson underneath and around the wound glistened - blood trickling down into the dirt, spilling at a dangerously lethal rate.

"I haven't eaten in three days because Itachi and all these other Akatsuki bullfucks have been giving me a headache, so-"  
Keska managed a grin as bright as any as he raised his eyes to the copy-ninja. "…come join me for an eat-all-you-can at the Yakiniku place afterwards."

"Ha-ha." The jounin chuckled somberly, rolling his eyes at the captain's untimely offer.

"I'll convince the barbecue-man to cook in the hospital for you."

"Psh. I don't need a medical institute, Hatake." The brown-haired soldier bent his head exhaustedly, and he provided a carefree smile, even when the blood continued to dribble down the front of his pants.

"Bakaero." The jounin murmured, his eyes softening.

"Hatake-…" Keska suddenly said, slipping his katana into its holster and pulling to his full height with a dangerous sway.

The jounin took a step forward as the captain staggered, one leg folding out before the other, until his knees caved and he lowered into the ground.

"Ah fuck." The captain muttered, his movements unbelievably slow as he pulled a leg up and threw one elbow over it.

"Let's go, Keska. Get up-" The pepper-haired jounin sharply said.  
"Do you remember…" the soldier broke in, "That time, when we were sent to hidden falls in the middle of winter…?"

Kakashi slipped his forehead protector down resolutely, and walked over to the stubborn captain.

Yes. He remembered.  
He'd gotten sick after that mission.  
Entering his cabin, finding all his clothes gone and the heater busted. He'd been forced to sleep with just his ANBU attire and a thick scarf around his neck.  
Six hours of bitter cold, plunging into the negatives before his teammates found him, half-frozen and buried under the thin mattress.

Keska gave a short breathy laugh that erupted into a coughing fit, and the jounin watched as he spat another bloody mess at the ground.

"Your clothes… were in a bag… on top of the tallest pine in the forest, copy-boy."

"You're a bastard." The jounin drawled out, hunching beside him and tugging one of the captain's sagging arms on to his shoulders. The man's brown head bent as he gave a small smile into the ground.

"Yep, that's what I like about you. Never having to use harshest words but still… you cut deep."

They walked along in silence for a while until Keska's low voice broke into the silence.

"Forgive me, Hatake."

The jounin glumly looked at his comrade and Keska turned his face to him, with a sad smile.

"Jealousy can make a man do stupid things."

"Jealous?-" the jounin said, raising an eyebrow. But the ANBU commander had cut him off with a hard stare.

"Just fuckin' forgive me for everything already, man. I'm trying to make amends here."

Kakashi stopped walking and focused a dead stare at the younger boy.  
"I'm tempted to leave you here to die, Keska."

"Hahaha!" the captain let out a startling boisterous laugh, and he cocked his head at the pepper-haired jounin.

"Sure, Hatake. Just give me my inner peace back. Say you forgive me… I'll die happy…." his brown eyes lowered, and for a moment the man's gruff, cocky nature disappeared.

"… After all, you are…" Kakashi watched the captain smile fervently as his chocolate eyes looked at him, "…the man I most respect."

The jounin's eye softened and his hand clutched tighter around the captain's wrist, pulling the sagging weight higher into the arch of his shoulder blades.

"Mm… Yes, definitely the hospital for you… seems the bloods stopped flowing into your brain already." His voice was light and careless as he spoke.

Keska shook his head slowly and grinned weakly.  
Even when his eyes were already lowering and his legs were growing numb.

"Still demand the groveling and complements, huh…"  
The captain's head dipped along with the last words he whispered into the street. "…wise-ass."

His body caved into Kakashi's arms, and the jounin bent to gather the unconscious soldier and his tangled limbs.

He remembered all the times in the past they'd fought alongside each other.  
It wasn't the first time Keska's impulsive actions had brought him to the brink of death.  
And it wasn't the first time the ANBU captain had risked his life for him, either.

_It only follows that it isn't the first time I'm the one who has to drag him to the hospital._ the jounin dryly thought as he looked down at his slumped friend.

The night was silent, save for the rustle of straw nipa roofs along the streets and the clapping of leaves as branches swayed.

"I forgive you…" Kakashi murmured into the space between him and his comrade, the mouth under his mask pulling up in a small smile.

* * *

"Sakura." The boy's head dipped into the kitchen as he called her, and he turned swiftly from one parent to another.  
Sakura's father had one hand suspended, coffee cup dangling close to his lips, and his wife had her mouth slightly parted as if she were about to say something.

All three people at the table blinked at him and the genin realized the family had been in the middle of a conversation.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura finally asked with a flustered smile.

He looked at her only for a moment.  
And then he couldn't help turning away as he felt the heat stray along his cheeks.

"I …wanna talk."

Sasuke didn't miss the way the girl's father raised the  
cup higher to his mouth, his eyebrows pulling up into his wrinkled forehead as he looked away and focused at the refrigerator.

"What about your curry, dear… it'll get cold." Sakura's mother called to him, one hand reaching out slightly across the table.

"I'll finish it Mrs. Haruno." Sasuke said, with a slight bow.

And Sakura finally rose out of her seat, slipping silently out of the kitchen as the raven-haired boy disappeared into the foyer.

"I was that handsome too, before… Don't you remember?" Sakura's father pushed a hand at his chin and he gave his wife a comical glance.  
"Stop being silly." Mrs. Haruno snapped in mock-irritation, rolling her green eyes and amiably swatting at him as she proceeded to pour herself a cup of tea.

"Sasuke-kun?..." the girl looked up at him as she approached, and he gestured her towards him with one hand.

As soon as she was close enough, he bent forward and snatched her wrist to him, giving the girl a harsh kiss even as she sharply gasped against his lips.

And just as abruptly he'd pulled away, his eyes solid with finality.

"I'm telling them."

"Tell… What?" she asked, short of breath, caught off guard and not really knowing what the boy meant.

"We're not friends Sakura."

Before the girl could ask anything else or even speak, he'd tacked her wrist to the wall and slipped a tongue into her slightly parted mouth again.  
Enjoying the thrilling sensation creeping up his neck, at being able to sneak the act a few meters away from prying eyes.

The girl shinobi was still breathless, fighting the tingle of her lips as the boy pulled away.

His eyebrows drew together, a look of impatience again enhancing his intense features.

"Well?" the boy demanded, finally slipping his fingers from her wrist.

"I… You… O-"  
"Not the time to recite vowels, Sakura."

"-Okay." The girl finished with slight panic and Sasuke pulled away from her with a smirk.  
"Okay." He confirmed, with a boyishly-aggressive twist of his mouth.

And then he slipped away from her and gestured mutely at the kitchen with his feathery, black head.

Sakura thought he was handling it like a mission.  
He seemed too riled-up, even excited.

A part of her wanted to cry in embarrassment and then laugh with sheer joy.  
Maybe she wanted him to stop for a moment and consider everything.  
Her heart was suddenly thumping hard in her chest, and the nervousness was settling into her stomach.

She couldn't make herself do anything as he walked off, and for a moment, she watched the Uchiha logo stretch out across his back, trying to calm the almost, unbearable tension tugging at her insides.

And then, Sasuke had turned and disappeared into the kitchen.

_What would her parents say?_

The thought made her queasy and swallowing her nervousness, Sakura slowly made her way across the short hall.

She had not even entered the kitchen when the rookie's voice already punctured the silence.

"Mr. Haruno, Mrs. Haruno… I like your daughter."

The kunoichi's head turned into the room just as her mother dropped a teaspoon.  
It clinked into the saucer under her cup, before clattering over the table and sliding across the floor.

Now, the boy stepped into the kitchen, slowly bending low to take the small utensil from the tiles as he made his way over to Mrs. Haruno, still sitting motionless in her chair.

Wordlessly, Sasuke held the spoon out to her.

Sakura finally stepped into the room, her face a healthy shade of pink as she looked at her father.  
The pipe was dipping low on his lip as he slowly looked at the boy in his kitchen and then at his daughter.

"Ohhhh!" the silence was shattered with Mrs. Haruno's loud cry and Sakura snatched a breath as she turned away from her father.

Again for the second time that night, Sasuke was wrapped in her mother's crushing embrace, the teaspoon still held up in his fingers.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun…" Mrs. Haruno practically hollered as she hugged the boy to her and lightly jostled him.

The raven-haired rookie fought not to pull away, his face reddening with embarrassment from the boldly affectionate gesture only seconds after he'd twice kissed her daughter.

"Well, Sasuke-sama!"  
The boy felt Mrs. Haruno pull away from him. And Sasuke finally turned discomfited to Sakura's father, who was setting his pipe down into the table and grinning with the grandeur of an emperor.

_Sama? As in, Hokage-sama?_

Sasuke blinked, trying to stay calm, readying himself for anything as Sakura's father slowly rose from his chair and approached.

To his surprise, the man only rested a firm hand on his shoulder, gazing down with strong, paternal eyes filled with pride, at him.

"You have our permission. And we are honored." He said with a sincere tilt of his head.

Sakura stood against the doorframe with a large smile on her face.  
A part of her felt disoriented, like she was watching a fantasty-movie in her mind and the events were playing out exactly as she wished them too.

_This isn't a dream. This shouldn't be a dream._

Seeing her mother so happy, clutching the mustard apron to her chest. On her face a tender look Sakura saw only back when she had first brought Ino over. Her mother was overjoyed her daughter had found her first friend at the academy.

Her gaze wandered towards her father and the girl couldn't help the bubble of laughter that escaped as she watched him stiffly ruffle Sasuke's raven-hair in a firm kind of affection she'd never before seen.

The boy lowered his head as Sakura's father gruffly laughed, and he gave the kunoichi a discreet sideways glance.

Sasuke's eyes were narrowed again in exasperation.

But then the pink-haired shinobi gave him a soft, shy, beautiful grin to which the raven-haired boy didn't mind having to go through another series of head pats and hugs.

* * *

"Ho, I am quite disappointed, Hatake Kakashi."  
Kisame lowered his head as he pulled away from his second victim, ignoring the way the bloody Leaf Jounin incoherently choked something at him.

With a growl of frustration, the shark-ninja swung Samehada in an arch, sending the bandaged sword tearing through the man's torso.

The blood splattered across the tower before Kisame heard the body's solid thunk into the wood.

A pasty, blue thumb came up, and he sullenly swiped the calloused pad at a droplet of crimson on his cheek.

Without thought, the fish pushed his pale tongue out and licked at the fluid on his finger, tasting the iron and the sweet thickness.

"Quite a habit you have there."  
The tall Akatsuki member turned around, and before he could react, a kick had connected with his jaw.  
Not solid enough to shatter bone but hard enough that the ninja staggered backwards with a grunt.

The move was undoubtedly powerful.  
Not just any shinobi could knock the terrifying Akatsuki man off balance.

"Disgusting."  
Daisuke stood a little way in front of the ninja, his purple eyes glinting sharply in the darkness as he spat over the floor in front of the blue-skinned missing-nin.

The shark's teeth pushed together in a snarl, and he rose to his full height of six feet and three inches, towering over the lean shinobi now.  
Something smashed into the wood from above, and a flash of limb punched into Kisame's skull, forcing his neck down against his shoulders and sending his body slamming into the ground.  
The shark was surprisingly quick to recover, swiping his sword out at Daisuke.

But the jounin leapt backwards, already in a series of handseals.  
"Bulls Footfalls." The jounin murmured, stepping back and slamming both palms down into the tower planks.

A trembling generation of inscription flowed like black ink along the wood, and the shark had barely slung an arm out to support his weight when an invisible force crushed the bones of his hand to the floor, splintering the wood underneath with the pressing heaviness of the jutsu.

Kisame tore out with a throaty cry as the rest of his  
body was pinned to the floor.  
But the shark's other hand dragged out from underneath him, erupting into a flash of unidentifiable seals.

_Shit, he can do it with one hand._

Daisuke, whipped his head around and shouted up into the roof.  
"Atom! Li'l help!"

The tower roof started to groan and before long the ceiling had caved in, planks hitting at the floor as the large shinobi crashed through from above.

"Die!" He roared, stretching out his limbs until they solidified into balls of hardened spikes.

One, two, three.

The first two spiky limbs hit nothing but wood, but the third smashed into Kisame's free forearm and the water jutsu that was extending from his fingers shivered for a moment towards Daisuke, before it trickled into the floor.

The jounin's purple eyes widened as he watched the trapped ninja's face wriggle like jelly, before it melted in on itself and pooled into the ground.

"What the fuck!" Daisuke pushed Atom sideways, screeching to a halt in front of the seeping puddle that had been the fish.

And then the two shinobi jerked as the startling laughter echoed around them.

"Foolish…" the guttural voice slurred, "… nobody can kill water like that."

"Where is he?" the bigger jounin thundered in anger, beady eyes wandering along the surrounding towers and the space around them.

"... No longer there." the voice stated coldly, before it gave another dry chuckle.  
"You've failed."

"You're a coward!" Daisuke shouted up into the air around them.

"Tell Hatake Kakashi… he is a disappointment to me."

And then the voice had faded off.

Even its chakra had disappeared entirely now and Daisuke let his arms drop limply to his sides.

"What a sick asshole." He said gritting his teeth and narrowing his purple eyes in vehemence as Atom staggered forward, knees scraping hard into wood.

His burly arms yanked frantically at planks of cracked wood, tossing the long boards over his shoulders as he struggled to dig out the two bodies underneath.

"Risune and Toyu are under here… Help me!" The bear-like jounin ordered, before he felt Daisuke's hand on his shoulder.

"They're dead, Atom. I know."

The bigger jounin looked up at his partner, whose penetrating stare had started to sweep across the mess of wood.

After a moment, Daisuke's eyes closed and he turned away.

"No." The bigger shinobi murmured.

And he lowered his face into his palms.


	24. DISCOVER

**Author's Notes:**

**This chapter is dedicated to the all the iffed-up impatient sasuxsaku fans (i know-i know i write too much in betweens... sigh)**

**This is the shortest chapter I've done so far, methinks. I ALSO think its the most adorable chapter so far. (Well, psh. That's just me of course.) **

**Also its significant for the next coming chapters.  
**

**Think of it as my little tribute to Sasuke's "alone time." Just basically what I think he's like (when in a good mood) by himself. Slow pacing, nothing much going on. But mehh, i do like thinking about these things. Winkle. Drop criticism. SAIKYUU MINA:D **

CHAPTER 24: DISCOVERY

He was tired. And his mind refused to think of what had just happened. All he wanted now was a long hot soak in the tub, the springy mattress and goose-feather pillows he'd grown used to in his temporary apartment, a thin blanket to counter the chills and a glass of water on his bedside table.

Then, the very next morning just when the sun begins its ascent from the east, he'll take a walk.

A long hard walk to clear his head and figure out how his life had spiraled from a single-minded pursuit of purpose, towards a multitude of spontaneous decisions.

What was it about her?

He'd had plans before any of this happened. Plans he deeply wished he could fulfill.  
His mindset was settled on one path he'd decided to follow.

And then she'd shown up on his doorstep drunk. She'd kissed him and everything suddenly fell apart.

_Is this how weak I am?_

Sasuke brushed past the dangling curtains of the entrance to the rickety apartment and made his way over to the middle of the sitting room.

He got himself a bamboo cup before making his way to the porcelain teapot dangling over the crackling fire near the back of the foyer.  
He poured himself some tea and couldn't help shutting his eyes in frustration as the cup touched his lips.

Why had he even agreed to train with her tomorrow?

There was no excuse for it.  
His mind had considered the kunoichi's offer very well and he couldn't blame it on his newfound spontaneity.

He made the decision carefully.  
He agreed.

Now, he wasn't so sure it was the right thing to do.

Sasuke didn't like the feeling of losing control.  
And he knew. Everytime he looked at her he saw something he'd never noticed before. And then he was spiraling away from direction again, allowing himself to hurtle in timeless, meaningless bliss.

It was strange, really.  
He'd known Sakura for a while, even couldn't stand her for a few months.  
But now, she was growing on him, a beautiful spring flower in all aspects that perhaps didn't know she was a weed.

Sasuke didn't feel at all that she was choking him.  
But whatever was left of his old mind was hitting the fact against his skull over and again, it was hard to ignore.

The boy pushed away from the tables, setting his finished drink down into a tray full of used cups.

Behind the bright counter, the landlady he'd grown familiar with gave him a polite, welcoming smile.  
But Sasuke's mind was thinking distractedly and he barely spared her a glance as he jogged up the stairs.

The hot bath had done wonders for him.

Sasuke's edginess was mellowed now as he eased into the bed, dragging his arms out in front of him, burying his nose into the linen sheets and pushing his legs under the soft pillows behind him.

It felt good.  
Almost as good as Sakura's hand on him.

_What._

Sasuke's head snatched up and he scoffed, grabbing a pillow from next to him before roughly pushing one side of his face down over the fluffiness of goose-down.

The smell of cherry blossoms filled his nose and he opened one eye, raising his head and peering with low eyebrows down at the pillow under him.

She'd fallen asleep on this.

Sasuke shoved the pillow away and pushed himself up with a grunt, hand reaching out for the t.v. remote on the bedside table.  
He took another pillow from the opposite side of the bed to prop his head up on as he punched the power button, weary eyes watching the flicker of the screen come to life.

Any form of distraction.  
Anything to take his mind off her.

In less than a minute Sasuke had entered all the key channels he'd grown familiar with back at his apartment, finding none of the usual networks he saw.  
An entirely different cable set-up.

T.V. shopping…  
_flip…  
_sports…  
_flip…  
_food network…  
_flip…  
_crime and suspense.

He watched for a moment… until the messy cameras were closing up on a decapitated cougar lying on a patch of cogon.  
The curry in his stomach seemed to nestle with finality and Sasuke figured he'd had enough.

With a lazy dip of his arm he punched in a random two-digit number.

The boy was about to close his eyes and turn his head sideways into the sheets when he heard it.

The moaning.  
His eyelids stopped in their decent.

Two voices.  
In sync.

Something about it was undeniably familiar and the raven-haired boy lifted his nose and blinked hesitantly at the screen.

What he saw almost made him turn away.  
Almost.

Didn't they have censorship in this place? Gods, what was Kakashi thinking bringing me here.

Ah… Kakashi.

The boy had the sudden urge to push the volume button down, jolting when he heard the woman shriek like a mewling cat.

The man, a muscular, slightly tanned, evenly-built samurai was senselessly kissing a writhing woman in a kimono.

Geisha, by the looks of the stark-white face powder and safflower red lips.

The young genin watched, chin burying into the pillow.  
Slightly embarrassed yes, he could feel the heat creep along his cheeks.  
But even more than that, painfully curious.

And then his eyes had widened as the woman's kimono fell around the wooden floors of what looked like a hot-spring cabin.  
He couldn't help noticing the jostles of the woman's full breasts as the two parried on with teasing.

Mm.  
Larger than Sakura's but the Uchiha rather thought it was a bit too much.

The genin didn't know why but he suddenly remembered Kakashi.  
Seeing all the steam rising from the pools behind the lovers, he pictured the jounin, lounging in that backdrop of mountain, fog and bubbling spring water with a white fluffy towel wrapped around his face to cover the nose and mouth he never revealed.

Sasuke had already seen it once, when the three genins had tried and failed to uncover the jounin's masked face.

Though at the time, Naruto and him had gotten completely irritated the recurring image now was hilarious, striking Sasuke so suddenly that he pushed a choked smirk into the white pillowcase.

And then he was focusing on the t.v. again and at the scene that was unfolding, noticing now that the tanned man no longer had his stiff robes and that he was starting to gently caress his woman.

Sasuke's heartbeat quickened slightly, onyx eyes observing the samurai's experienced fingers slide along her body, feel around her shapely thighs, push up into the peaks of her breasts.

The girl moaned and Sasuke felt something jerk uncomfortably at his groin.

_Ignore it, Uchiha._

And then the geisha was pushing backwards into the futon, legs sweeping in tantalizing grace as the man crept forward at the wag of her finger.

His face suddenly reddened as he realized the scene appeared very much like what had happened only a few hours earlier with him and the kunoichi, in that very same bed, nonetheless.

Only he was the eager one, and she was adorably mortified.  
Heh.  
"Funny." Sasuke muttered, more to the thoughts echoing in his head.

The panning of the camera was utterly graceless.  
It went full out until Sasuke was shaking his head at the straightforward obscenity of the playing visuals.

No, he felt no inclination to close the t.v. whatsoever.

The woman's legs parted and Sasuke gave an audible snort into the room as the camera centered down between her thighs.

A startling naughty smirk tugged at his mouth and Sasuke defiantly nudged an elbow out across the mattress with a smile.

_Sakura's looks better._

He'd barely caught himself when the thought already left him, because the Samurai was doing something Sasuke didn't even think to do at all.

What…

Is…

Sasuke's shoulders straightened as he heard the moans of the woman, and he pushed his elbows into the pillow, obsidians keen in momentous observation.

Taking in the movement, learning and memorizing.

Time passed, and the boy became absorbed in the heated dance of passion, the clash of skin against skin, the instinctive movements of tangled limbs, the familiar escalation towards the precipice.

His solid gaze saw everything and missed nothing.

The act seemed endless and brief at the same time, and the genin found himself in frantic study, gray irises breathing in the complications.

Which went where, how long to take, how slow, how fast, how light or strong…

Like any other ninja scroll or jutsu combination, like any other lecture given at the academy, step by step, skill by skill.

He didn't need the Sharingan.  
His memory was excellent and each detail seared itself deep into his mind.

Sasuke watched, forgetting the time, ignoring the clamors of his own body.

All doubt he'd had as he entered the apartment was now gone.  
And his mind only thought of one thing.

Just her.  
Sakura.

The name was still fresh in Sasuke's mind as the samurai bent to kiss the geisha's moist forehead, damp locks slipping forward, body satisfied with the aftermath of lovemaking.

And the genin laced his fingers up against his mouth, contemplating, putting pieces together, finally understanding.

What it was and all it was.  
They'd barely been scraping the tip of the iceberg.

The act was over and done with, and the scene moved on to a younger woman who had apparently been sitting pressed against the door to the room.

She had heard everything and was now turning away from the rice paper panels with a graceful sweep of her heavy kimono, padding off into the hallway with a fragile, whispered sob.

Acting was bad. But he had learned something new.

The boy finally raised the remote in his hand and turned the t.v. off with a push of his thumb against the power button.

In the silence of the room and the town, he heard nothing but the light clink of the willowy, Venetian blinds stirring against his opened window-sill, and the incessant barks of a stubborn dog somewhere in the distance.

_Tomorrow…_  
Sasuke rolled into the warmth of the sheets around him, dragging one pale thigh up over a long pillow and draping an arm somberly across the pillow Sakura had used.

The pillow he had pushed aside.

Tomorrow.

He'd have to lead her far off into the woods.

Far…  
Far, far off.  
Deep into the trees where it was impossible to purposely get through.

The young genin closed his eyes and buried his barely-visible smirk into the cracks of linen as exhaustion and sleep deliciously took him.

And then he was lost in a flitting cloud of vivid images and dreams, his breath slipping mute against the rumpled sheets.

* * *

**So this was my idea of a sneak-peek into sasuke's "private" life. lol. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**If it leaves you all nice and fuzzy, do smile for me and give me a comment. (fuzzy and nice was my intention, and ill be very happy to know its affected you too!) :D -huggles-**


	25. LURE ME

**Author's Notes:**

NAUGHTY. (shakes head). Sometimes even too much for me. Haha, anyways, this chapter was long... so bear with me please!!! Took me quite a while to finish it. After this, they'll finally be starting the missions. :))  
Okay now, hang on tight ladies and gents. Enjoy the ride!  
(KYAA!!!)

CHAPTER 25: LURE ME

"Brought you something."

Kakashi dropped the small fruit basket between the ANBU captain's legs before proceeding to slouch into the visitor's chair beside the hospital bed.  
He cringed slightly as the gauze taped to his shoulder brushed into the wound, but he gave the commander buried under the thin white sheet an unminding smile, regardless.

Keska roughly pulled off his plastic oxygen mask and lowered his head to scrutinize the contents of the present in front of him.  
His eyes rolled drolly when he saw what constituted the get-well-soon package and he gave his jounin friend a sarcastic smile.  
"As much as I want to stuff myself with this whole basket… I'm allergic to mangoes. And you know it, copy-boy."  
The jounin only shrugged and before the brown-haired man could even think of objecting, Kakashi's hand had already reached out, plucking one large yellow fruit out of the basket.  
"Mm…" he appeared to ponder innocently, before his one visible eye jerked as if he remembered something important.  
"Oh, yes, the bloated face and swelling tongue…"

"Seems to have slipped my mind." The jounin drawled, giving the man a bored look.

The captain mock-laughed as he pressed back into the pillows, watching his old teammate casually retract a shuriken from one vest pocket before carefully slicing the sharp tip into the fragrant fruit.  
"Ah well." The listless jounin sighed before reclining comfortably back into the chair, one hand reaching up to his face to pull down his mask, sliding the stretched fabric down to the curves of his jaw.

The black mask settled just below his lower lip and Keska pushed out a childish frown as Kakashi raised one tempting silver eyebrow at him before finally taking a bite and lingering wickedly while chewing.

Keska's chocolate brown eyes narrowed when his old teammate dangled the fruit in front of his face in approval.  
"… sweet." The wizened jounin commented after a brief pause of swallow.  
"You're an Ass-hole." The brown-haired commander slowly dragged out in response, roughly pushing the oxygen mask back up over his mouth before settling into the pillows with his arms folded over the back of his head, eyes defiantly closed. "You really haven't changed at all copy-boy."

Kakashi smiled at the muffled voice under the plastic oxygen support and he pushed one leg up into the footstool in front of his chair, reclining lazily into the foam cushions, as he resumed eating.

* * *

In the forest, the morning was cool with the stirrings of a gentle spring breeze, coupled with the sounds of birdsong and whining cicadas.  
The boy stood over a stretch of field with the grass and flowers touching the heights of his ankles.  
Small dandelions danced in the wind and he blew a strand of raven-hair away from his cheek as he looked at the breathless girl in front of him.

"Not enough." Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on her tight stance.  
The girl's green eyes flashed and her fists clenched at her sides as she swung another leg out.  
He blocked it solidly with a sideways arch of his arm and his stormy eyes glowered.  
"Still not enough, Sakura."

"Hah!" She ignored him. Ducking low and punching out at his stomach before twisting around with a sweeping high kick she meant to connect with the side of his neck.  
Sasuke avoided the fist to the stomach and barely flinched as his hand grabbed the kunoichi's ankle, stopping it inches away from his collar.

Her eyebrows drew together with the effort and she bit her lip in disappointment as he released her leg.

"You're not using the right gateway." Sasuke pointedly said.  
"I am…" The intelligent girl moaned, giving up and slumping into the ground with exhaustion, knees folding out on either side of her red dress.  
Sasuke stepped away, stuffing his hands into his shorts as he proceeded to stare down at the battered girl.  
He knew she was trying, but Sakura just didn't seem to know when to focus and release her chakra.  
It wasn't a lost cause because the kunoichi had excellent control for ninjutsu, it was the speed of the attack that rendered her hits useless.

Her tai-jutsu was horrible.

What with her not responding fast enough to his offensive moves and then not releasing enough energy to his defensive parries.

Normally, he wouldn't care.  
But a part of him wanted her to become stronger because he saw how helpless she looked.  
And Sasuke knew all too well what it was like to be weak. It angered him that the girl gave up too easily from her faults.  
His obsidian eyes hardened as he looked down at her lowered head.

"Get up."

Sakura lifted her weary face to him and one arm dropped limply down into the grass as her form visibly crumbled.  
"I'm tired." She sighed miserably.

"… Get up, Sakura." The boy firmly pushed.  
The girl flinched at his tone and slowly made to stand, looking up at him now with despondent eyes as she spoke.  
"The only reason I became genin was because I was with you."

"Hn." The boy snorted, turning his head to the side before walking further off.  
"Don't patronize me."

"Well, what I meant to say was…"  
Her voice trailed off distractedly as she snatched a kunai from the holster wrapped around her thigh.  
"-Because I was with you and Naruto."

She proceeded then to crouch in a hesitant attack stance, gauging the distance between them.  
He sent her a sharp, dark look from far away and bent his legs in position to counter her.

"Don't patronize me or that blonde idiot."

Suddenly the kunoichi threw the kunai at him, and Sasuke twisted his body towards the right, seeing the glint of steel shoot past his head.

Too predictable.

He focused at her as she ran forward a few feet, and then his head snapped in attention when she suddenly veered towards the right, closing in and knocking an elbow into his defensive forearm.  
Sasuke pushed himself lower to lessen the impact of her arm on his, and Sakura took the chanced-opening that left his head vulnerable, flexibly swiping out a knee and aiming the back of her ankle right for the rookie's jaw.  
He ducked sharply and Sakura felt the tops of his raven hair graze along her calves as the kick made a perfect roundhouse.

Still, she'd squarely hit nothing but air and as soon as she landed on both feet again, Sakura pushed out her arms, striking low for the next combination of moves.  
Her hand almost touched the tip of his nose.  
And she would have felt the satisfaction, if the tensai-rookie hadn't suddenly lunged into a double backflip and disappeared faster than she could blink.

Did he go left or was that a right?  
Sakura moaned, realizing that her eyes hadn't even captured the direction of movement.  
_Horrible! Why do I even bother training?!_

She looked around for a moment, heart pounding in her ears as she caught the rustling around the trees to her right.  
It wasn't the wind.

Her feet planted lightly over the ground as she moved her body into guard position.  
And her pink hair whipped out as she glanced sharply to the left, then the right.

She'd lost him.  
And she needed to be prepared for an attack.  
Without looking down, the kunoichi reflexively reached sideways into her holster for another metal weapon.  
And then her stomach clenched with horrible panic when her fingers brushed at nothing but empty space.

"What-!" She pushed her face down only to find the bag of weapons gone and the bandage holding it, severed and dangling along her thigh.  
Her eyes jerked up, astonished with the reappearance of his narrowed obsidian stare in front of her.  
The sharp glint of a steel needle twisting out like a cigarette from between his mouth caught her attention.  
It was hers.

"You just looked away from the opponent." Sasuke mused in a low voice.  
The cold metal of her ninja stake pressed into his lower lip as he smirked, and then he slowly raised his hands in front of her face showing her the shurikens she recognized were also hers, wedged between each of his fingers.

How did he…

"Game over." Sasuke flatly stated.  
And the girl cringed as he threw the weapons sharply at the ground.  
Each star seemed to form a telepathic connection with the rookie's hands as they thunked one by one into the dirt in a clean horizontal line exactly one foot away from the tips of her sandals.  
Her eyes widened even more when she noticed the distance between each shuriken.

A fair two inches of space between each weapon.

The thick needle between Sasuke's teeth reflected the light of the morning sun as he took the weapon from his mouth.  
And then he looked at her, letting the needle drop limply from his fingers to the ground where it fell lost in a patch of grass.

"That's amazing…" Sakura said, eyes softening with admiration as she gazed at him.  
"… That's tai-jutsu." The raven-haired boy muttered, turning away from her when he noticed the look on her face.  
The smoldering greens of her eyes, lighter than garden grass, softer than emerald and deeper than sea water.  
Oddly, it burned him, and he could feel the heat already consuming his face as one of her pale hands reached out for him.

He thought she would put a palm to his cheek, but instead her fingers lowered, grasping at his collar.  
She was gently urging him forward with a light tug but he remained motionless, resisting her with a stubborn stare.

"Training." He reminded the girl in a firm voice.  
But Sakura's smile was defiant, her mind resolute on having a taste of the boy she admired.

She reached out this time this with both her hands, gripping his blue collar and pulling him forward with a burst of surprising strength.

"Nn!- Sa-" The boy's shoulders lurched with the tug and his nose pushed into her face gracelessly.  
"Idiot!" he bit out, holding back the urge to rub at the soreness as he sharply made to pull away.  
Still, he heard the light giggle and felt the warmth against his skin, and her soft lips rose, finally finding his mouth.

"Sakura." He sharply objected, and his eyes fell shut in slight frustration, the name muffling against her teeth as she insistently proceeded to kiss him.  
He was knocked a step back, feeling one sandal scratch against tree bark behind him.  
And then her hands were trailing up his white shorts.

A groan trickled up his windpipe when Sakura finally slipped her palms under his shirt to the damp, warmth inside.

No, no, no.

He'd meant to bring her deeper into the forest.  
But she'd insisted the clearing was perfect.  
He didn't want random villagers from either earth or leaf to be venturing into the field expecting a bursting rainbow of flora and instead, seeing something almost wholly contradictory to the chasteness of what they'd imagined.

Last night it had seemed simple and easy, but once again his careful planning wasn't faring well against the overpowering kunoichi.

"We're standing in a meadow…" Sasuke choked in warning and he cringed as her hands stubbornly pushed up his ribs, gentle fingers dragging up along his flat nipples and then settling down into the curves of his hips as she sweetly smiled at him.  
"Pretty isn't it?" she asked him, blinking in the slow lazy way that told him she was once again struck smitten.  
"Pretty stupid if we did anything here. People come to pick flowers, Sakura." His voice was sharp as he narrowed his eyes at her.

But his onyx glare eased into an almost faltering scowl when Sakura's finger slowly started to draw whispy patterns in and around his navel.  
The coils pressed tight under his skin, his nerves straining to feel the hypnotic movement until he twisted away with a low, irritated sound because one of Sakura's hands had started to press to his shorts.  
She proceeded to lightly tease the straining heat, running her hand along him until his breath wedged and the Uchiha somehow began internally cursing the offensive material of his shorts.

And then the weight of her lips pushed both of them back against a tree, the rough bark cutting dully into Sasuke's back and snatching at the sharp locks of his jet-black hair.  
"Damn it, Sakura." He tore out in a harsh whisper, hating himself for not wanting to stop her. Recoiling from her touch but straining when she left him.

Finally, they sank to the ground near the edge of the clearing, right behind a small hill of honey clovers with purple blooms.

Sakura was only inches away, considering the raven-haired boy with teasing eyes when a yellow butterfly suddenly brushed past his nose, flitting around for a moment before finally landing gracefully on his cheek.  
He fixed her with a dead stare as she laughed and her hand reached up to gently brush the insect away.  
It fluttered off. And one of his pale hands wrapped around her wrist, tugging her down towards him.

Their mouths touched and breathed the warm air within proximity — her fingers dancing along his skin and his hand lifting to the opening of her dress.  
And then the heat began to escalade, their tongues sucking and caressing while the sweet smell of mossy grass filled their lungs.

Her hands slid higher along the planes of his stomach, snatching the fabric of his shirt up until it gathered around his chest and Sasuke was recoiling into the grass.  
The pads of her fingers skimmed along the solid paleness of skin. Up and down, as if she wanted to memorize the way he felt.  
"Shall I suggest other places for you to pet?" He asked with a sarcastic twist of his mouth.  
"I'm sorry… I can't help it… you're just so-" The girl struggled before growing silent.

In her vulnerable position, Sasuke took the opportunity to slide the zipper of her dress down, somehow enjoying the way her face seemed to redden more and more as the gape of the fabric opened wider.

She still didn't look comfortable revealing herself, he realized.  
Starting things off eagerly, surprising him with her boldness and suddenly withdrawing in her shyness.  
It was just as confusing as his own reactions towards her.

Then she was surprising him again, her hands reaching towards his white shorts.  
And this time Sasuke settled back, allowing her to undo his zipper.

The kunoichi blushed even more profusely at the sight of his boxers and the bump straining underneath.  
It wasn't a joke at all.  
He was aching too badly already.

Impatiently, his hand snatched hers, and almost too quickly he had pushed her fingers past the opening and over his stiff warmth.

Sakura's eyes widened and he expelled a sharp breath.  
Partially to release pent-up frustration, but also because of the delicious heat of her hand pressed against him.

"Hn. Too slow." he turned his narrowed eyes at her.  
"And I thought it was just your tai-jutsu that was the problem."

"But I like to take my time." She answered, trying hard to look upset and failing miserably because her mouth was playing up at the corners.

"Tease." He murmured darkly, reaching up to the exposed skin of her stomach and up the bandages tied around her breasts.  
"You should know." Sakura provided honestly with a grin.

The upper half of the kunoichi's dress was now unfurled, curling graciously along her waists, her slender body pressed against him so her lips could meet his.  
Underneath her, Sasuke was struggling. Taking in slow breath as her fingers pleasured him.  
And then the inevitable occurred.

"Igara, don't jump over the logs, you'll fall!"

The kunoichi's startled eyes widened and Sasuke's mouth froze midway to her neck.  
The sound of footsteps, rapid and light, scrambling over grass and rocks greeted their ears.  
A child's voice, shrieking with laughter, echoed into the field and the kunoichi's heart leapt into her throat.

"Oh god…" Sakura whispered frantically, not daring to move against him.  
A slight shift against the small molehill in front of them and bad timing if the person happened to be looking in just the right direction… it was inevitable they'd get caught.

_Not like this!_ Sakura panicked, _My dress!... Sasuke-kun's shorts…_  
"OKasa-kaasa! Look! Look!!!"  
The kunoichi's breath caught.  
The voice was so close.  
Oh god it was only a child.  
She pushed her chin up at Sasuke, eyes filled with terror and embarrassment.  
To her surprise, the boy gave her a composed frown and pushed up on one elbow.

"Sasuke-kun!" she whispered in alarm.  
His calm obsidian gaze looked at her and the girl briefly wondered how he managed to stay so subdued.

"Henge." He said in a low voice.  
The girl kunoichi gave him an incredulous look.  
"What?"  
"Transformation art. We're genin, Sakura." He saw the flustered look on her face and couldn't help giving her a smirk.

Before she could say anything else, he'd closed his eyes and formed the transformation seal with his fingers.  
"Henge."  
The discreet smoke and wind swirled around her and the girl blinked as the shape she was leaning on shifted.  
Suddenly she found her fingers clutching at the softness of fur.

Something furry, black and big had started moving underneath her.  
Yellow eyes looked up from behind the slight puffs of smoke and the dog who only moments ago was Sasuke-kun, lolled a large pink tongue out at her as if to tease.  
He nudged away from her arms and kept low, skirting the grass, crouching into the ground a few feet away with his tail curling alongside his legs.  
The triangular bat ears above his head perked and his large black muzzle turned to her patiently, in wait.

So Sakura closed her eyes, and recalled all she learned in Iruka-sensei's class, hoping fervently that her mind and body wouldn't fail her now.

_Oh kages, onegai!_

"Henge." She whispered, eyebrows drawing together in nervousness and concentration.  
And then she felt the change, opening her eyes inches lower from the ground with a peculiar sense of imbalance tingling along her limbs.  
The smoke cleared and the sight of her paws greeted her, covered in tawny yellow fur.

She raised her equally fluffy head in happy succession and the black dog gestured with a dark nod, taking off into the thickets of trees beyond the meadow.  
"Igara?" the female voice was calling again, "Oi, Iga-ra! Don't stray off too far!"

Sakura turned just in time to see a small child run towards the middle of the meadow, his mother tailing close behind in her simple, brown robe.  
The boy's eyes lit up as he spotted Sakura hovering at the edge of the clearing, and his small stubby fingers rose as if to reach out to her before he sqealed delightedly.  
"Yellow doggie, kasa, look!"

The girl quickly turned around and trotted into the forest, barely sparing them another glance.

She didn't know how long they'd been running.  
The trees loomed in a combination of high and low, and a burst of thick gnarles had started to erupt over her head.  
Soon the terrain changed and roots reached up in bent angles, logs twisted into odd, large shapes and streams started appearing.

But the large, powerful, black beast in front of her wasn't showing signs of slowing and Sakura followed his shadow incessantly, the way she always had in the past, and the way she still did now, never tiring as long as she could catch up to him.

The rocks and pebbles littered the grounds and Sakura felt her paws strike at both painful and comforting forest floor.  
But her brown eyes looked ahead, seeing the object of her affection skirt up a slanted tree stump and over a log suspended in orchid vines.  
She ducked, ears flattening against her head as bushes narrowed in on her and swept out to brush at her yellow tawn.  
And then she was in front of the log Sasuke had leapt over.

Instead of going over it, she pressed her body low, crouching into the dirt, pushing herself out from underneath and emerging gingerly into what she saw was a small clearing with a trickling stream gushing across both sides.

_We're lost._ the kunoichi thought, brown eyes glancing around at the many narras and bamboo surrounding the area.

Suddenly Sakura had been knocked down in a collision.

The wind rushed out of her from the force and she let out a short yelp, toppling, until the dirt was above her head and the tops of trees and blue sky was beneath.

Sakura knew then.  
She was on her back.  
With the black dog breathing heavily atop her, his dark limbs extending out on either side of her smaller body.

For a moment the girl forgot she was in henge, and she admired the way Sasuke could easily have passed as another wolf living within the area.

His black coat fell untamed, twisting wild along the tips, and his eyes glowered - magnetic and unfathomable, a startling yellow that was leaning towards copper flooding into a coffee black center as round as a full moon.  
The thought stopped, because Sasuke's muzzle was lowering and Sakura could only watch, mute because of her lack of capable vocal cords or the right mouth to speak.

What was he…  
A pink tongue slipped out from his furry black snout… licking once, slow and warm against the side of her face. And the yellow dog froze, paws suspended close to her furry chest at the surprising tenderness of it. The sensuality.

Her doggy heartbeat quickened as she looked up at his piercing yellow eyes.

_Sasuke-kun…_

She blinked once. But when her eyes opened, she was looking into a cloud of dissipating smoke which was as easily already clearing away into nothing.  
The black paws on either side of her were gone, replaced now with the smooth paleness of Sasuke's lean arms planted firmly at her sides.

She turned her face up, snatching a breath when she met his obsidian eyes.

And then her gaze lowered, settling on Sasuke's white shorts.

Still unzipped, and now hanging precariously low on his hips.  
The sight made her stomach tighten.

"Like being a dog, usuratonkachi?"

His lips curled into something more tender than his usual defiant smirk.  
And then a hand reached out to her fur, pressing deliberately low near her hind legs before playing along the arches of her pale stomach.  
His hand dragged higher. Finally pressing to where a human chest should have been.

"You know I don't like to wait." He whispered, eyes glinting with something Sakura could have related to hunger.

So she focused on the jutsu, shutting her dog eyes and willing her normal self back.

The smoke hadn't even cleared when his lips were already on hers, moving with a need he wanted to fill. His palm hadn't moved from where he placed them earlier and now her hindered breasts rose to fill his hand.

Sasuke lunged at her with a painfully hot tongue, kissing until she didn't know where the ground or the sky was anymore.  
And then his mouth eased out, careful and slow as his hands started to part her dress.

The white bandages underneath the folds greeted him, and the boy finally gave the dazed girl an evenly-controlled look.

"Unwrap this right now or I just might rip it off." He threatened in a low voice.  
She gave him a look that seemed to hold the makings of a grin and the kunoichi sat up, reaching behind to unwind the bandages.

Sasuke watched the gauze unravel from her skin, barely enjoying what he felt was a slow tease she was purposely doing for him.  
The thin strip fluttered to the ground. And then she was seated in all her nakedness, mutely blinking at him with something like anxiety, desire and fear embalmed into a single look.  
His insides roared and soon Sasuke had knocked her back into the mossy ground, hands reaching up to cup at her chest, mouth dragging over the flushed stretch of neck.

The first sound that came from her was a soft moan… when he had slipped his hand down to touch between her legs.  
And then he was tugging at her pine green shorts, pulling both that and the underwear down over her legs, in one impatient move.

"Sasuke-kun-" she breathlessly gasped, and the girl watched him pull away from her just as abruptly.  
Her legs fell shut on instinct when he looked back.  
"We're gonna try something new." He darkly murmured.  
And then the boy reached out, dipping his hands into the cool water of the narrow stream gushing beside them.  
"Something… new?"

The muscles underneath her stomach tightened as she repeated his words and after a moment, Sakura gave him an anxious glance.  
He held one hand up and she watched the crystal droplets drip from his fingers before his eyes flashed heatedly.  
"Spread your legs, Sakura."

She didn't know why she was suddenly trembling as he came to her. But she slid open for him anyway, trusting the boy as he lowered his hands between her legs.

"Nn-" she jerked as the stunning coldness of his damp fingers settled into her warm center. And she couldn't help biting her lip when the boy eased into the familiar, delicious sweeps of motion, calling the pleasure from her middle almost immediately.  
Stroking slowly and then faster, lightly and then more insistently.

Somehow he already read her too well.  
Something about the way he touched her was different, and as Sakura focused on his face, she saw the certainty, heat and concentration planted into his sharp features.

Sasuke looked completely in control.  
The way he always wanted to be.  
And now, it was as if he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

The first stirrings came and she jerked forward with a gasp.

Just as swiftly, he covered her mouth, cutting the rest of her breath short in her throat.

And then he'd pulled away with nothing but a breath of sound.

"Sakura"

The tone was almost apologetic.  
And then she felt it.

The peculiar shift of his finger.  
And the push.

It had barely registered when she jolted back with a bitten whimper - head arching into the ground beneath at the unexpected invasion. The pain burned even if there was a small heated pleasure underneath.

"What are you doing?" she gasped against his mouth.  
"Trying to make this easy. Now relax." the raven-haired boy ordered.

And the kunoichi would have done just that…

If Sasuke hadn't pushed another digit into her.  
"Aa-!" she tore out with another sharp cry, clenching and buckling down at the burning stretch.  
It was so very different. This time it really was painful.  
Though underneath it, Sakura couldn't describe the feeling as anything else but being filled.  
Her body still seemed torn, split apart by his fingers. And her hips tightened even as he carefully pushed deeper.  
The breaths escaped distressingly; and the raven-haired boy's eyes travelled up to the heat spreading along her cheeks, up at the pained look in her sea-green irises.

"If you weren't so rigid, Sakura-"

"-You could have told me how much it would hurt." she bit out.

And then the burst of emotion came. Hating how she was so weak, upset that her eyes were starting to moisten against her wishes, the warmth, the pain, the moment. She'd been deduced to this. The boy she loved was making her cry.  
She pulled one of his sleeves closer to her as a droplet trickled from the corner of one eye and Sasuke's obsidian gaze softened with apology, though he'd never be able to say it.

She forgot the pain for a brief moment when the Uchiha pressed close, tongue licking gently at the wetness on her cheek.

And then his fingers were moving, burying into her and withdrawing in a motion that was both peculiar and familiar at the same time.  
The pain insisted stubbornly but the kunoichi remained pressed against him, managing to respond to the slow kisses he was giving her as a distraction.

Gradually, the burning sensation lessened into a dull pulse with each new stroke of his hand, and Sakura's grip loosened from his sleeve, finally letting go and lowering to the grass beside her.

"Better?" he calmly asked, forehead furrowed with a concern that somehow surprised her.  
She barely managed a nod and her body slowly started to unclench as his fingers pushed deeper and drew out more, slowing down to an agonizing pace and then quickening a notch.

Something else was coming, she knew, as Sasuke pulled back and looked at her.  
Wordlessly, the boy placed his other hand on her - stroking evenly where she strained to feel him.  
And the sweetness she recognized came rushing back, intensifying when Sasuke started to match the movements with the plunging inside.

The twin assault caused her eyes to widen and then fall shut, a sharp breath wrenching from her lungs as her hips rose impulsively and her head twisted back, pink hair tumbling along the moss.

"Sasuke-kun-" She wrenched out, jerking from the waves of the dawning pleasure he was slowly provoking from her body, surprising even him with the sudden change of reaction.

This kind of sweetness was different. It reached all the way into her spine and melted deeply like curling fire into her stomach. More complete than any kind she'd ever felt by herself.

The pain and pleasure, the magnitude of both, it was enough to drive her to the brink of writhing desperation. And then before she could think, she had voiced the demand.  
"Nnn- Sasuke-kun- I-…Deeper.. " Sakura urged with a suppressed sob.

"Deeper?" the boy mused with raised eyebrows, "You're tempting me to use more than my hand."  
Yet he obliged, pushing gently into her until she was gasping and moaning her approval.  
And in the process of his deeper stroking, he discovered with a curl of his fingers, the spot inside her that heightened the ecstasy even more.

"There!" the kunoichi bit out with a moan, "Just- right there."  
He smiled secretively and lunged for it, watching the blush settle heatedly over her cheeks as she bit her lip, twisting underneath him.  
The motions of his hands brought her closer and harder to completion.

"Ah-! Sasuke-kun…" she cried out, tossing her head up as he relentlessly plundered her with sure, even strokes. And with a hike of her breath and a sharp jerk of her body, she shattered, catching a glimpse of his clear, obsidian eyes before she twisted out with a strangled moan against him, burning incessantly, and then falling submersed in contentment.

Her head lowered as the delicious pulses subsided and the world came rushing back, together with the pounding of her heart in her ears, and the decline of her harsh breaths.  
She said his name one last time, fervently, and he slowly withdrew his hands from her.  
The soft material of his shirt pressed against her skin as he closed the distance between them and then he gave the kunoichi a kiss to the lips, so perfectly wholesome and chaste, it was simply ironic.

Sakura looked up at him breathlessly and the boy gave her another defiant tug of his mouth.  
"Now, you owe me." He said, the fluidity of his low voice settling into the heated air around them as he pushed back.  
"Oh no." the girl teasingly whispered with a lazy smile.  
"-No?" Sasuke repeated, catching the last word and turning it against her.  
Sakura drew a breath when he purposely pressed his palm back to her wetness and gave her a darkly suggestive look.  
"You won't remember what that word means… after this."  
Her stunned look lifted to his solid eyes and he almost glowered with satisfaction.

Being fairly exceptional in the art of physical combat was one thing.  
But being able to master Sakura's body…

That was a skill he sought to flawlessly perfect.

* * *

"Aauuw, but Ne-ji!"  
Ten-ten shoved her hands across her chest and gave the boy a hard glare.  
Her stony-brown eyes matched with a pair of transluscent lilac ones and the boy frowned as he looked at her.

"I didn't promise you anything." The taller boy lightly said.  
The girl gave him a sharp shove to the arm, which startled the Hyuuga surprisingly, and he shot her a threatening glare in warning.  
But the reaction appeared milder than he intended because of the way the sunset reflected into his irises, warming across the outsides of his eyes and setting the center aglow.

"I don't care if you didn't promise! … That's not even the point!" The girl stuttered.  
And the two round bobs laced with bright, red ribbon on her head bounced haughtily as she focused him with an even harder glare.  
"You said OKAY."

"I only said that because you were being such a pain." Neji quietly interjected, closing his eyes indignantly and turning away with a frustrated wrinkle creasing along his forehead.  
"Aah Ne-ji!" The girl whined, giving him an irritated glance before lifting her nose and turning to the girl beside her.

"Hinata-sama! Tell him." She begged, clutching the shoulder in the beige jacket.

The younger Hyuuga blinked at Ten-ten before glancing apprehensively at her cousin.  
The expression on his face remained listlessly aloof, failing to shown the slightest signs of recognizing the continuation of their conversation.

"Anou…" the shy girl started, looking back at Ten-ten who was urging her with gentle sweeps of her hand.  
"Today IS the last day they will be performing-"

"Hinata-sama." The boy shot her one of his trademark noble looks, "I don't care about going to some 'Iron Clasher' concert."  
"It's 'Iron Clash Show-nins'" Ten-ten corrected him frustratingly.  
"However it is they call themselves." The boy shot back in his frigid low voice.  
Ten-ten had turned to him with a horrified, offended look. And Hinata pushed a palm close to her mouth as she glanced away, barely hearing the less than feminine way the other girl launched into a full-blown defense of her favorite band.

The Hyuuga Heiress' eyes settled over the ripples of the sea down below the road they were standing on, watching the orange rays ride along the waves and disappear into the shore.  
Her eyes wandered towards the solitary shadow of a figure sitting slouched over the edge of the small, wooden dock extending from the shore and over the waters. And her transluscent whites lit up with the familiarity of the spikey tousseled hair, illuminated against the sun.

"-not typical rock-genre, right?? Besides-"  
Ten-ten turned away, mustering the dignity to speak her next words while trying to ignore the boy's indifferent stare.

Hinata noticed the sudden silence, and she looked back at the girl beside her, as Ten-ten gave another pout and reached into the pocket of her dark shinobi pants.  
"I already bought you a ticket, you-"  
"What." Neji stated, giving her a squarely hard look.  
"…You're a jerk if you don't come. And after I ripped two of my family scrolls because of your stupid Kaiten, I'm telling you-"

"-Anou…"

Both angry shinobi turned to look at Hinata. Neji with his arms crossed against his chest and Ten-ten with half a fist held up and her mouth still partially open.  
At the attention, the girl immediately flushed and gave them a hesitant blink.  
"Neji-nee san… You really don't have to bring me home."

"What are you talking about, it's my duty." The boy replied, annoyed at how both his companions managed to threaten his organized schedule for the night.

"Go with Ten-ten, please." Hinata boldly insisted, continuing with renewed effort as the other girl's eyes softened and her mouth flashed a warm smile.  
"She paid for your ticket, and you did agree- and…"  
The girl Hyuuga ducked her head to the side as a blush consumed her cheeks.  
"I would like to stay her for a while."

Neji turned his head sideways, eyes slanted in irritation as he studied the heiress.  
"Stay here, why." The boy's voice practically demanded despite its careless fluidity.

Hinata only lowered her head, before her restraint broke and she snuck a secretive glance at the boy still casually sitting on the wooden stretch above the water.  
Ten-ten's eyes were quick to notice and before Neji could do anything else, she threw a firm grip around his arm and started walking, partially dragging the shocked Hyuuga away from his cousin.

"Hinata-sama will be fine! Let's go. We'll catch some dinner before the concert starts."

"Ten-ten!" Neji sharply tried to object.  
But the girl hardly ever fell prey to his menacing nature or dangerously vehement voice, and she patted another hand on his shoulder with a sunny smile. "She's gonna be fine Ne-ji!"

"Hinata-sama… your father." The boy blurted out, trying to struggle, pulling away from his teammates grasp.  
"I'll tell Oto-san you have late training." The girl murmured, her white eyes glowing with assurance.

"Ten-ten… stop pulling me."  
Neji's teeth were clenched in an effort to control his exasperation and the brown-haired girl with golden-brown eyes turned to him with a careless, inappropriately bright smile.  
"You'll like them… I know you listen to rock - even if you play those silly Japanese flute songs when you're meditating."  
And the girl struggled to repress a giggle as she purposely drawled out, "Neji… kun…"

The boy gave her an annoyed glance, his nose slightly wrinkling.  
"Stop it."  
The eyebrows of the Hyuuga shot to the middle of his head, and he closed his eyes as he finally gave in with a despondent sigh, easing himself into a steady and dignified pace beside the excited girl.

* * *

The blonde boy's fingers scraped idly against the cracks of wood below him and his deep, blue eyes gazed out into the water, traveling up to the descending, burning glow of the sunset.  
Did he train enough?  
He thought he did. Today, he'd worked for half a day, chakra building and conditioning for the Village Stone mission tomorrow.  
And snow country.

_Nyeehee_  
Naruto pushed a smile into the thick, white collar of his orange garb and trembled with excitement.  
He couldn't wait to pack the bright blue, bison-wool scarf and the wooden snow shoes.  
And ramen. Lots and lots of instant ramen.  
And…  
His eyes narrowed as another thought struck him.  
_What about bottled water? Won't it just freeze when we get there anyway?_

With an exasperated, audible sigh his hand dug out a pebble wedged between the planks. And the boy whipped his arm out, before flinging the stone out into the water, watching the kick of the ripples as the pebble skipped further and further away.  
It finally got sucked into a wave, and the boy lowered his eyes.

"Naruto-kun?"  
"Ah!!" The boy let out a startled yelp at the sudden murmur beside him. And his blonde head whipped out sideways, turning to the girl standing just a few feet away.

_Hinata._  
One hand clutched to his chest, bunching into the loose material of his jacket and the boy let out a high-pitched chuckle. "Hinata! You almost gave me a heart attack!"  
"Ah…" The Hyuuga blushed, scraping the tips of her sandals against the wood as she looked up at him.  
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…"

"Kyee, that's alright." The blonde grinned, swinging his legs up from the edge of the dock and jumping to his feet.

His eyes narrowed into naively curious cat slits and he laced his fingers behind his head as he tilted at her.  
"What are you doing here? Na- naaa…" he gave incessant pokes into the air and his whiskered cheeks pushed out into a charming show of prominent incisors.  
"You saw me, didn't you? Didn't you?"

"I…" Hinata started, unable to help the smile on her face and the flutter in her chest.  
"I did." She admitted with a shy curl of her mouth.  
The boy burst out with another fit of fluctuating high and hoarse laughter and Hinata felt the world around her loosen into the slow, easy pace that was natural whenever she was around him.

How ironic though that she became even more flustered despite that, and her chest constricted as she looked at him.

"Wanna sit? Dipping your feet into the water is nice too." Naruto carried on lightly, lowering back down with a thump before pulling his legs between him in an Indian sit.  
His blonde head jerked up, clear, crystal eyes blinking at her as he waited for the girl to follow.  
Hinata's hands crept to her chest and she shyly glanced at him, before giving an off-hand smile and settling in, barely a hand's reach away from the boy.

With Naruto, there was never a reason. Everything was just a smooth flow of events with little questioning and more spontanaety.  
This was precisely what she liked about him, the girl discovered, as she watched the blonde bend to remove his ninja sandals.  
His rich, cerulean irises looked over at her slowly and he gave her another casual smile.  
"C'mon Hinata, just dip your toes in. It's nice and cool."

She didn't know why it seemed so natural.  
Why she felt so comfortable doing it.  
But in another moment the Hyuuga heiress was lowering her feet into the gentle, lapping waves and the blonde was sighing in contentment, pushing back against his arms as he lazily considered the stretch of water.

"I come here to think a lot." Naruto said, giving her a candid glance which was second nature to him and appeared quite adorable to her.

She blushed and looked down, even as her mind formulated the question.  
"I'd like to know… What do you think about?"  
Her voice was barely out, when she glanced away from him and pushed a thumb close to her mouth in outstanding surprise with herself and her straightforwardness.

"Well, lately… a lot about Sasuke and Sakura…" the blonde answered heatedly with a frown, unaware the girl beside him was blushing profusely.

"And…" Naruto's lip pushed up in thought as he poked an index across his whiskered cheek.

His eyes widened with the remembered thought before he turned to her,  
"And, you!"  
The words thumped into her consciousness and the Hyuuga heiress swiveled her head at him with a surprised look.

"Me?!" the girl squeaked, her serene, opal eyes suddenly widening with shock.  
"Well, not you, you. Just … Well, of course it's you, you. But… Ah!"  
Blonde eyebrows drew together as he slung a hand to his stomach and laughed, finding the difficulty of putting his thoughts into words ridiculous.

Naruto leaned into one hand and distractedly tangled his fingers into his blonde locks with another.  
"Well, it's just, Kiba told me the other day,…"

"Kiba…?" the girl whispered, panic clutching at her throat as her eyes widened even more.  
"Yeah, Kiba…" Naruto frowned, his eyes dancing up to the sky in thought. And then just as easily, the boy's face broke into a dazzling smile, looking at her.

"That you liked me."

The shock hit her like a tidal wave and she blinked her wide eyes at him, hearing the sudden pounding of her heart and the distinct sensation that she was a separate entity from her current body.  
"N-..N-...Naru- to…"

"Hmm?" he asked, eyes tightening into furrowed lines of question.

"N-… I-… Na-… Anou-…."  
Hinata didn't like how she was stammering so badly.  
Hated the way her fingers twisted into her beige jacket and shook as she gathered herself with panicked breaths.  
The blonde observed her mutely, his mouth flitting through uncomfortable neutral ground, quite undecidedly lingering between a grin and a frown.

"…Hinata?" The blonde boy hesitantly asked before leaning his head down towards her, eyes speculating with shimmers of teal and cobalt as he tried to catch her lowered gaze.

"Na-ru… to… Its- Anou-… I just-"  
This was too much.  
She was struggling too much.  
And it was making Naruto feel very bad though he didn't know why.

"Is it… I mean- is that true?" he eased out the question, blonde eyebrows pulling up into his forehead protector.  
The girl's mouth twisted sideways. As if she wanted to speak but found she couldn't.  
Instead, she shut her eyes tight and pushed her head down, mortified to the point of imploding.

"Just tell me, Hinata…" he gently urged with an awkward smile, his whiskered cheeks tinted with a slight blush despite the moderate tan of his skin.

She continued to twist and wring her clothes and for a moment, he only heard her making tiny sounds, squeaks and gasps, shallow breaths and sighs.

And then the sounds stopped altogether.

Naruto jerked back as the girl suddenly raised her translucent opal eyes to him with firm resolve.

"I …do." She admittedly whispered.

Naruto blinked at her, more than astonished with her final clarification.

She did.  
She liked him.  
Kiba was right.  
Kiba was right.  
"Kiba was right." He murmured dumbly, speaking in tandem with the voice in his mind.

The girl's flinching eyes tore away and she pulled her feet up with a splash, startling him with a gasp and her sudden withdrawal as she stood.

"Ah- Ah!" His blue eyes widened, and just like any other time, his impulsive nature seized the situation.

"Wait, Hinata!" His hand reached out, catching her wrist in one movement and the girl crumbled internally, shaking without control as he continued to grip her hand firmly in his fingers.

Naruto didn't release her as he raised his legs from the water and pushed up to a stand beside her.

"Hinata… I-…"  
He'd never been in a situation like this before. Never felt the swelling of warmth enveloping his chest at the thought someone truly liked him.  
Truly saw him and valued him.

"It's… okay." Naruto murmured in a low voice, surprising the girl even through her flustered emotions with his striking seriousness and suddenly subdued demeanor.  
"I'm happy you like me."

The boy could hardly believe it was him speaking as he blinked up at her. And just to complement his words further, he gave her a small smile that turned into a wide grin all on its own.

"I guess, for that, I… like you too."

"Naruto… kun…" the girl whispered.

The boy still found it difficult to focus on her eyes. The transluscent nature of the Byakuugan was so unreadable, so deep and reflectionless at the same time.

He was too used to his own crystal clear irises, staring into his bathroom mirror every morning for the whole duration of his life - the starkly blue eyes that reflected different shades with the changes of his mood.

Anyone could read him easily with a glance.

So could he really stare into eyes like hers for long periods at a time?  
Could he learn to understand her just as much as she already understood him?

"Were you heading somewhere Hinata? Should I…"  
He looked away as he felt the unfamiliar heat of a blush on his cheeks at the thoughts he were verbalizing.

"Should I…" His ocean-blue eyes flickered up to look into her face, "…walk you home?"

Surprise of all surprises, Naruto couldn't suppress the dominance of happiness and giddiness as the girl gave him an open smile.

She was happy.  
Someone was happy because of him.  
The acceptance he saw in her.  
He wanted more of it, he realized.  
Yes, he wanted to earn the acceptance and repay her.

"Yosh!" he erupted in declaration.  
And the girl's eyes widened at the suddenness of his outburst as he turned to her with a gleaming look filled to the brim with rekindled life.

"Let's bring you home then, Hinata."  
"Ah…" She opened her mouth, looking away and then looking back at him.  
"…Mm." The girl finally nodded with a blush and a smile.

The boy gave her wrist a friendly nudge as he smiled at her, and he watched her eyes settled into warm pools of ivory, reminding him of soft snow in the night, feathers and fluffy clouds, polar bears swimming in a sea of lavander, everything all at once in an overflowing gush of emotion.

Indescribable and sweet, and strange, like her, he concluded.

* * *

"So if you think about it, it's …very sad. When you forget to observe the little things and find the beauty in them, then everything becomes dull and meaningless…"

Sakura's voice trailed off and after a moment, she pushed up on one arm and looked down at him.

The boy had his eyes closed, lips drawn out in a fine line. One pale hand was pressed to the front of his shirt and the other was still gripping the kunai they had used for the mock spar training after sunset.

The kunoichi watched the even rise and fall of his chest and the sharp, dark bangs against his pale skin as he continued to lay, quietly motionless.

Was he tired? … Perhaps she'd taken too much out of him. Back in the unexplored depths of the forest, he had been surprisingly insistent with her body. After a while, she'd slumped against him and closed her legs, throat burning from the cries of pain-pleasure, telling him it was enough. He'd learned her enough. She would be happy for a long time.  
Sasuke-kun didn't ask her for anything after that. He just pushed up and proposed they have lunch.  
By the time they'd made their way to another discreet open area of the woods, he'd once again convinced her to train.  
A long tirade of limbs clashing, sore muscles and incessant running.  
It was, to Sakura at least, an exhausting day.

Perhaps, he'd fallen asleep.

"Sasuke-kun…?" she called him, hesitantly.

"I'm listening." He responded stoically, cracking one eye open briefly before closing it again.

"Good!" The girl said with crinkling eyes, and then her lips broke out into a smile as she traced a finger along his cheek.  
"So what do you think about beauty?"

Sasuke's obsidian eyes slowly opened and the boy looked at her.  
"I don't have to tell you. You won't like it anyway."

"You don't tell me anything about you, Sasuke-kun. And I don't like that already." Her shoulders lifted in a shrug.  
"How bad could it be?" She sighed in exasperation.  
Silence.

"When I was four, I found a notebook in the living room…"  
The girl blinked at his sudden narration and her eyes lit up with a smile, even if the Uchiha proceeded to look up into the brightly-lit night sky while he talked.

"When no one else was there, I opened it and flipped through the pages. On each page there was a drawing... and each drawing was sketched in crayon. Birds, trees, waterfalls, people…"

Sakura watched his face as he spoke. Listening to the quiet low tones of his voice.

"I decided it was interesting… so I kept the notebook and looked at it every night…"

"Every night…" Sasuke's voice trailed off.  
And as if the boy realized he'd been speaking of something absurd, he snorted and closed his eyes.

"… and?" The girl pressed, shifting closer to him.  
Sasuke sighed impatiently, though somehow, her prodding urged him to keep speaking.

"…I brought it to the table at breakfast one morning while to-san and kasa were there." His eyes opened again, and Sakura saw the sadness buried within the depths of gray.  
His memories must hurt and her heart squeezed.

But she said nothing, because the boy had resumed talking.

"…to-san was drinking coffee. And when I showed him the notebook, … he told me to throw it away."

"What?" Sakura jerked her head up from her palm. "Why?"

"It was my cousin's." Sasuke said simply.  
"So what?" The girl's voice rose, forgetting all grace as she glowered over his slouched form.

"My cousin wanted to be an artist." The boy answered.  
"He didn't care about joining the clan's security force and oto-san didn't want any of that to rub off on me."

"He was useless." The boy pushed up on his elbows and Sakura watched him lean back against the large boulder behind them.

"So, Sakura…" he finally said, giving her a pointed stare, "That's what I think of beauty. It's useless."

"That's horrible." She bitterly murmured.

The boy gave her a knowing smirk.  
"I told you, usuratonkachi, you wouldn't like it."

"How ironic…" Sakura suddenly declared, pushing her elbows into the grass.  
"Me, thinking you're beautiful and you thinking nothing of it."

"What??" The boy suddenly choked out, turning his face sharply to her.

Seeing his wide eyes and the burst of comical expression caused her to break out in a melodious fit of giggles.

"But you ARE beautiful, Sasuke-kun. The way trees and mountains are beautiful." The girl explained.  
And her green eyes glowed as if she'd discovered a truth the genius rookie had missed.

"That…" the raven-haired boy muttered as he turned away with finality, "-is the most idiotic thing you have ever said, Sakura."

"Sure. You might think so." The kunoichi provided lightly.  
And Sasuke was just about to retort with another deviant snort when he felt her hand press to his shorts.

Too suddenly, he felt the tug and heard the sound of a zipper being yanked down, slicing into the cold air around them.  
Everything grew warm, but the boy stubbornly ignored the feeling as he focused at her with sharp black eyes.

"…This is…?" He asked in a controlled voice.  
"-So I can tell you what else I think is beautiful." She answered in a heartbeat.  
"… My cock is not beautiful…!" Sasuke answered stupidly as he turned crimson and fought not to cross his arms.

Her seriousness shattered and the girl fell across the grass in a fit of giggles.

It was the first time he heard her laugh that way.  
Not that Sasuke didn't want to hear it again.  
Just that he never wanted to hear it again when the subject involved him.

"No, no… You've got it all wrong." The girl shook her head and gave him an exhilarated grin.  
"Fine. Enlighten me." Sasuke almost growled at her.

"I'll tell you, when I see it." The kunoichi's voice lowered, just the way her hands lowered his shorts and eased down his boxers.  
Her mint green eyes dipped along the planes of his body and in her heated scrutiny, the boy forced himself not to lash out at her.  
It sent him off the edge sometimes, the way she was so uncanny in the art of teasing him.

"Relax." she playfully said. And the boy clenched his teeth before he gave her his foul-mouthed response. "Shut it, Sakur-"  
Her lips pressed to his abruptly and the raven-haired boy struggled to remember the root of his irritation as Sakura's warm tongue slid into his open mouth.

He couldn't remember.

The boy held back from responding, annoyed at how easily he gave in.  
But the sense of dignity lying in the generations of Uchiha pride held fast only for a moment before it finally crumbled with the press of her palm against his jaw.

The only thing he could do was stubbornly knock away her touch.  
Notoriously shove his mouth back at her in aggression.  
Kiss her. And kiss her some more.

He felt a finger slip under his shirt and trace at his stomach. The gesture conjured up heat, rising need, the familiar impatient nagging. Inevitably, the response of his body.

"What are you doing." Sasuke sharply stated as the kunoichi suddenly pulled away from him and teetered dangerously close to his legs.

"I owe you don't I?" Sakura sweetly asked him, turning her face up to his.

She inched herself lower, eyes taking in the firm arch of his flaccid member, feeling the heat pooling and gathering inside her as he pressed back against the smooth rock.

Her heart was thundering in her ribs, and a small part of her still fought to stop the undiscovered urges that were now controlling her hands, dominating her fingers as they slipped tentatively up the backs of his knees, traced along the expanse of his pale thighs.

The blades of grass brushed lightly against her knuckles as she touched him, and the young kunoichi's face softened, mesmerized by the smooth stretch of skin, the contours of muscles that flexed with each small movement, his languid beauty, rippling like calm water.

Her fingers danced up his skin, higher, higher…

Suddenly Sasuke's hand had snatched at her wrist, forcing a small gasp to escape from her.  
And as the kunoichi looked up, she saw his eyes, drowning in shadows of gray from behind a stubborn spill of raven strands.

"…Sakura." His voice was low, teetering with hesitation.  
But she grinned as she pulled away.  
Ignoring how his fingers clamped tighter around her skin with every inch she lowered.

And then her face was pressing close to the sensitive place between his legs.  
Sakura could feel the heat from him even when he pushed a hand out, snagging at her chin, his gray eyes firmly looking her over.

"I can't kiss you if you're all the way down there, dobe." He said, voice stiffly seasoned with hollow sarcasm.  
"I can." She unthinkingly whispered and before he could move, she had pulled away from his grasp and pressed her lips to the tip of his aching length.  
His gray-tinged eyes widened and the heat traveled across his face, spreading down to his neck, gathering to right where his belly met her eyes.

"Stop, Sakura." Sasuke fought against the uncalled-for exhilaration nipping at his navel and he meshed his teeth down at her in warning.  
"You know I make a mess."

But the girl paid him no heed and before he could snatch at her, Sakura's mouth had already parted, the warm moistness of her tongue emerging, caressing down his shaft.

No. He stiffened.

What was she doing? Is this even…

Her lips closed around the hot stiffness.

And then Sasuke felt it. Saw it. The sensitive skin sliding up into the heat of her mouth.  
_Gods in-…_  
"F…-ck" Sasuke couldn't help grinding out, wrenching his head sideways as the motions of her tongue and teeth called the pleasure from his heated middle.

"S-ah..kura…" his voice was a quiet infuriation enveloped in a kind of bliss he refused to completely succumb to.  
Why?  
Because of the almost vulgar bluntness of the act.  
Because he'd never even dreamed of being pleasured this way.  
Because it felt almost too good.

Her mouth stroked him with a motion identical to the kind of stimulation he badly needed. Wanted.

A motion he had taught her.

Only it was so much better, the heat and the wetness, the softness of a tongue combined with the edges of teeth.

Sasuke's grasp on her wrist weakened with the sudden domination of heat flooding his entire body and he felt it a burden to even breathe.  
After a moment, his pale hand had lowered into the ground, digging hard into the mossy grass, anchoring into the dewy blades.

Fighting for control.

The truth was clear, and the truth was this: he didn't want her to stop.  
Couldn't make himself say the words anymore, fearing Sakura would do what she almost always did…

Actually listen to him.

His onyx eyes looked down at her almost helplessly and he watched her head evenly moving over him, the tips of her hair luminous in the moonlight, her moist, red lips dipping and then rising, it made him want to tear her into the ground, push her hand tight around him, ravenously kiss her-

But the thought was cut off when the kunoichi's mouth impulsively sucked at his heated member, sucked deep and whole, inducing a sweet, sharp, clenching sensation from his groin.

And oh gods, this feeling.  
Sasuke's head came up, till he could have seen the shower of stars blanketing the night above them, but the motion was so delicious, so mind-blowing, the boy was too far gone to bother with lights in the sky.

A groan pressed to his throat as he gave in to the delirious pleasure of her lips molding over his stiffness, gritting his teeth in an effort to stay still when the kunoichi sucked carefully at the wetness bleeding from the slit.  
The world swung like a pendulum and with dizzy eyes, Sasuke managed to dip low and look at her.

"You can't swallow that."  
The girl lifted slightly, the intense glow of her green eyes meeting teasingly with his disoriented onyx ones.  
And then she did swallow, a small smile playing mischievously along her mouth.

"Idiot." He whispered, narrowing his eyes weakly at her.  
Her hand balanced over one of his lean legs, and she buried herself comfortably along his middle.  
Then she had taken him in again.

Sasuke's eyes lowered, heavy with sedation as he watched the girl in her agonizing experimentation.  
Teasing him again, like all the times in the past - practicing her temporary domination over him, enjoying her bouts of rebellion with little flicks of her pink tongue.

Sakura pulled up and the boy caught the slight glimmer of wetness, glossy against her cherry lips.  
The immensity of his need shook him, but Sasuke was astonishingly gentle when he pushed up into her mouth, the snarling rage of impatience subdued only by discipline.  
The boy couldn't help giving her a rugged leer when she raised her eyes to him.  
Sasuke was aware his selfishness was starting to burn through… He didn't care anymore.

"Faster." He commanded stubbornly, breath clipped with the beginnings of heated frustration.

One of the Uchiha's pale hands travelled down, clutching to the back of her head.  
And in one motion, he pushed her head lower, biting back the ecstasy when she made a sound against his stomach. He moved, canting, setting ground for tempo, urging her without words to follow.

And Sakura was as insistent and compliant, meeting him at every thrust, boldly pushing him to that invisible precipice with every firm motion of her mouth.

No room for stopping, even when the boy pushed his head back and tightened against her, breath escaping heavy, frenzied into the space between them.  
His other hand dug deeper into the grass, grip tightening with every second of escalation, and then he was writhing only so slightly, unable to stop from moving.  
Almost…  
So… close…

"…Sakura." he groaned in warning, pressing his hips hard into the mossy ground as the pleasure threatened dangerously.  
In one motion, her mouth had lifted from his heated member, replaced just as suddenly with the firm grip of her slim fingers.

Crystal green shone in the darkness as she finally looked into his eyes.  
Those hazy depths of obsidian, tinged with the slight traces of red she loved.  
Her hands were moving now.  
Stroking him evenly.  
And again the pleasure was building harsh and fast, coiling through his groin, forcing a shudder from him. And Sasuke could focus on nothing but the moment, coming and rising.  
His eyes closed, until he felt the press of her palm against his firmly clenched jaw.

"Look at me, Sasuke-kun." The kunoichi whispered.  
"Don't tell me what to do." He bit out, only barely thinking now of anything else.

Close. And gods her hand was so tight.  
Good. The bliss was inevitable.

_Don't stop…_ Sasuke wanted to drag out.

_Sakura…_

And then he did look at her.  
Her beautiful, clear eyes and her soft, warm lips.

She saw the need and wanted to fulfill it, inching forward carefully, until their mouths met and Sakura felt the familiar jerks of his body, the insistent twist of his hips.  
Pulling away, the girl gazed into clouded irises of obsidian-gray, gradually fading now into fiery blooms of crimson.  
And then he was pushing up against the rock, raven-hair dragging along the smooth surface of pumice.  
His breath slipped past his lips, uneven.

But his gaze remained unwavering, tempered.  
And as they looked at each other in the vague darkness, he told himself he wouldn't falter.  
No.

His eyes narrowed sharply, piercing deep into the beautiful sheens of green - a vague crimson gaze steadying on the delicate thickness of her eyelashes, the lights reflecting off the deep pools in her eyes.  
He was drowning.  
And Sakura looked back, just as intensely, never breaking contact, not in her look and not in the motions of her hand.

In his eyes, the dots had inked in, two in one, three in the other.  
"There…" Sakura's whisper broke through his hazy stupor.  
The boy looked at her as her lips broke into a satisfied smile.  
"That's beautiful." Sakura finally murmured.

The sharingan made him predictable.  
She knew he was close.  
And then he was there.  
Sasuke's hand clutched at her collar, the red disappearing as his eyes finally fell shut in surrender.  
And he pulled her forward, mouth and tongue landing hard on her lips, whispering and swearing desperately against her, hips restless as he gave in to the shattering climax.

The wetness slipped smooth over her fingers, and he pushed away with a harsh groan, lifting instinctively with the strokes of her hand, the lights of her eyes dancing behind his closed eyelids.

He fell sated against the cool surface of rock behind him, the warm satisfaction spreading out in waves, his body finally stilling into the soft grass.

Crickets were chirping incessantly, the trilling sounds carrying out through the night.  
And after a moment Sasuke dragged his mouth to the side of her face, a smirk forming stubbornly against her skin.  
"That was good." He quietly said into the twinkling darkness, and the kunoichi smiled, just as satisfied with his words, her lips drawing closer when he subtly raised his chin.

In the vast cool of fragrant forest air, they kissed each other, the heat of their bodies, a cocoon against the biting chill.  
Forgetting anything.  
Everything.

I know, I know… I probably went overboard with this one. Haha, couldn't help it. I'm a sucker for passion. So if you appreciate this kind of thing, tell me! Then I'll know if I should stop making them or make even more. LoL. bows Again, thanx. :P


	26. NOISES

**Author's Notes:**

**Kakashi learns more about Yume. GASP. As usual, the Sasu x saku relationship developments, some heat (in however way you wanna interpret that)... hmm this chapter is such an emotional rollercoaster. Okay, so I'm taking too long but there's just so much i wanna cram in! Development of characters, settling some issues, starting others... please bear with me!!! Anyways, yeah... Mushiness really kills the progress. If it's getting to be too much, someone please come to knock some sense into me. :P Comments and criticism!! THANK YOU:D**

Chapter 26: NOISES

On the morning of the mission, Kakashi's visible eye was reading along the last familiar column of names etched into the marble when a sound from the pathway to his right made him look up.

Instantly his gaze met with warm irises of snowy gray, and the girl meters away from him stopped in her tracks, giving him a startled smile.

"Hatake?"  
"Yume." He greeted with finality, his voice barely above a quiet murmur, still recovering from the painful rise of past memories brushing vivid in his mind. Her timely appearances, purely coincidental, no longer surprised him. Perhaps he had always passed her, but had not known it was her.

Or perhaps, there was an acknowledgement of something greater, the tides of fate, bringing them together.

On her face was a bemused smile, as she slowly stepped past the tall grass carrying in one hand a basket filled with white daisies and yellow chrysanthemums.  
She came to a stand-still beside him, eyes moving over the cenotaph below them, before glancing up at the serene-looking jounin who was also, at the moment, looking her way and calmly observing her.

"Come here often?" he asked into the mutual silence.  
"Yes, though not usually this early in the morning…It's just…" The girl bent her head, thick eyelashes lowering as her gaze brushed across the bouquet of flowers lovingly. "-today is my mother and father's wedding anniversary."  
The jounin pushed a gloved hand into one pocket and crossed one leg in front of another. "I see."

He watched her tuck the folds of her kimono behind her legs as she lowered gracefully into the grass, fine silken hair as black as deep night, spilled along her narrow shoulders as she propped the basket of flowers beside the large, polished stone.

The jounin forced his gaze away from her petite form, making to step a further distance off as she paid her respects. But the girl looked up at him, and one of her hands rose, pale skin catching at the early morning light between them.

The jounin looked from the outstretched arm to the girl crouched before him and she gave him a soft smile.

"Don't move away. Come-" the girl beckoned, nudging her head at him. "I'll introduce you."  
"Introduce me?" Kakashi repeated, raising an eyebrow. Noone had ever introduced him to an embossed name before.  
"Yes." She laughed lightly, her gray eyes disappearing into the lovely curl of eyelashes. Kakashi watched her gesture some more, and then he had taken a quiet step forward watching the woman as her gaze lowered to a portion of the cenotaph, far towards the right side where the edge of the stone met the flat marble ground. None of his dead comrades, none of whom he knew had their names carved there.

"Daddy…"  
Her murmur, filled with much love and reverence, struck the jounin, and he slowly retracted his hand from within his pocket, pulling up to his full height as he watched her back, feeling strangely, as if he needed to look presentable in some way or another.  
"This is my friend Hatake. He is… He's been a very good escort…" the girl then turned to the jounin with crinkling eyes and a beautiful grin, and Kakashi managed a small smile back at her.  
"He's my guardian, daddy, when the night falls, and when the streets are empty…" Her voice trailed off, and she gave a quiet sigh of contentment as her fingers reached up to trace across her father's name.  
"With him…" she whispered, "I feel a little safer."

Kakashi felt the warmth break into his chest at her words, and his eye softened, giving him an even lazier look than usual. The jounin watched her fingers press into the carved stone resolutely, over and over she touched the surface as if she could somehow feel his presence under the letters.

Kakashi's eyes widened, the breath wedging in his throat. His whole body went numb and cold shocks flitted up his spine as he stared at the name pressed beneath her fingers.

No….  
Was that?

- It can't be…

He obviously wasn't reading it right.  
The jounin's breath failed him as he scanned the name over and over again.  
But it was.  
No.  
How can that be possible… - How is that name-

"Hatake…" She broke into his state of shock.  
"Meet my father,…"

_Her father. _Kakashi echoed light-headedly.

"Uchiha Kaiseki."

* * *

Itachi's ears perked. And he slowly glanced up from his shadowed position against the side of the cave.  
A droplet fell from the pointed rocks above his head, and the man turned his face up. 

More droplets fell, a steady trickle that became a slow gush, water pouring down in a straight vertical line towards the ground, gathering into a puddle that started to spread and gradually take shape.  
Itachi's eyes were a solid black in the darkness of the shadows.

The Sharingan barely consumed chakra now that he had perfected the art of genjutsu and his body had adjusted to the fluctuating levels, but to use the eyes he'd grown used to ever since he'd left Konoha would only bring the ANBU closer, faster to them.

And they couldn't afford that.  
Not when they didn't yet have the fox.

The older Uchiha watched the water rise, rippling every which way until the formation hovered at a fair height over his head from the ground.  
He caught the stark fish irises.

And then the sound of water stopped and the liquid froze, shivering and then snapping from its suspension, free-falling to the ground in an abrupt waterfall that crashed against the rocks and pebbles.

The shark's fingers reached up to the collar of his cloak and he gave the material a few rough tugs, sending droplets of water at the other man.  
"Was it so difficult?" Itachi murmured, ignoring the dampness in his hair and cheeks as he gave the ninja in front of him a cold, indifferent look.  
"So I decided to have a little fun." The shark shrugged, fixing the Sharingan user with a glower that told him exactly what fun had meant.

"And Kyuubi?"  
"Kyuubi…" Kisame repeated with sarcastic emphasis, "is going on a mission today to the village of Stone."  
"There is an ANBU team patrolling near that area." Itachi said in a low voice, looking away from the man and then walking past him, silently towards the tight entrance of the cave.  
"Since when has garbage like that ever been a problem for us?" The shark laughed, swinging Samehada heavily unto his shoulder as he looked over at his partner.  
The mute stare Itachi aimed at him seemed to pierce into his throat.

Kisame gave him a defiant smile.

"Arrogance is something we don't need right now." The older Uchiha said. "-especially after your trip to spy on our little vessel, Konoha will have tightened security."  
"I did your precious Konohagakure a favor." The shark snapped vehemently, his predatory eyes flashed and he exposed his teeth in an ugly smile. "I slaughtered two of the most inefficient jounins they had-"

"-We leave for stone tonight." Itachi said, ignoring the shark's excessive degradation of the village as he looked out over the forests around the mountain.  
"Your sword should lead us to the nine-tailed fox."

Samehada smashed hard into the ground, cracking into the parched dirt and one of Kisame's hands stroked across its bandaged surface, as if he were seducing a bucking beast.  
His eyes glowered as he looked at the older Uchiha's back. And then Kisame crouched low into one of the flat boulders and sat.

"It will." The shark answered in a throaty rumble.  
Together, in silence, the two Akatsuki members waited.  
Thinking only of the moment they would feel the demon's unsurpassable chakra again.

He had a chance to roll his eyes at the door before the blindfold came around his face, blocking out the sun and anything else he could see.

* * *

"This is stupid." Sasuke mumbled as he felt the kunoichi's hands tightening the knot behind his head.  
"It's not." Sakura objected eyebrows rising as her green eyes sparkled. 

The boy didn't say anything, and the girl stepped around him until she was standing in front, watching his mouth work itself into a frown.  
"There are three gifts in three different places around this room…" Sakura announced in a burst of vibrance. Her palms laced behind her back as she stepped away from him and she giggled, unable to stop her giddiness at the sight of him, turning his head ever so slightly towards her, raven hair scraping against the collar of his shirt.

"Sakura." The boy said, eyebrows wrinkling into the middle of his forehead, "I don't understand why we're doing this…"  
The girl couldn't help herself, and she stepped forward pressing close to Sasuke's face. Her green eyes taking in the fine bridge of his nose, the soft curves of his lips. Stray bangs fell across the blindfold and the kunoichi's hand rose, brushing a finger across his cheek to push the hair away.  
"Mmm…."

Sasuke could feel the heat of her breath dance along his skin.

And then he heard her voice.  
"…It's been a month."  
"A month…" The boy repeated, tilting his head and crossing his arms impatiently. "And so?"  
"It's a monthsary! Our first month together, silly." Sakura giggled as she pranced a little farther away from him.

"Now, start looking, ah-" Sasuke lifted his head, hearing the bubbly laughter again before the girl corrected herself.  
"I mean… feeling."  
For a moment the boy only stood firm on the spot and Sakura's shoulders lowered slightly.

"Sasuke-kun?" she said uneasily, trying to see past the blindfold.  
He turned his head to the direction of her voice, and then he exhaled audibly as if his head were fighting with his body, torn in decision to follow her or not.

Finally, the Uchiha stretched his hand out and the girl grinned.

Swiping slowly from the left towards the right, nothing but air until his fingers touched against wood. He sidestepped the chair in front of him and felt across the table at the center of the room.

Something odd brushed against his palm and the boy stopped. Another finger sank into something soft and sticky, and he jerked his hand away, recoiling with a slightly disgusted look on his face. "What the hell is that?"  
Sakura pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to stop the fit of giggles from surfacing as she looked at him.  
"I can hear you." The raven-haired boy flatly stated, and he turned his head accurately towards her. "And it's on the table. Is it food?"

"What kind?" The girl couldn't help teasing.  
"… oatmeal…?" Sasuke dragged out, feeling ridiculous and itching to take off the blindfold.  
"Yuck." Sakura wrinkled her nose, though she had a wide grin spreading across her face. She walked up to the table, lifted the plate off the surface and held the porcelain dish close to his face.  
"What-…" Sasuke started, and then faltered. He stood still for a moment, breathing in and out. And then Sakura saw his mouth twist into a smirk. "…Hn. … Triangular sushi patty with sea bass."

The girl lowered the plate and laughed.

Indeed it was - his favorite meal from the canteen beside the academy.

"Smart Sasuke-kun." She praised him, giving his fluffy head a teasing pat.

He turned his head and the blindfold seemingly fixed her with a sharp, annoyed look.

"… I'm not a dog anymore. Don't treat me like one."  
Her hand swatted playfully at his jaw as she laughed.

And the boy's eyes narrowed as she replaced the playful gesture with an equally light kiss.

"I'm taking off this blindfold if you do that again." He snapped.  
"Okay! Alright…" the girl bit her lip, trying hard to taper down the brimming excitement controlling the bounce of her feet. "Now the other two!"  
Sasuke knew the kunoichi had given him a puzzle. After all, Sakura was the type who liked to think and analyze. He was practically the same in his own way. Critical thinking was a part of him. He didn't do it when it wasn't needed, but then, he did it well when it was. And as he settled his arms over the table, pausing to linger, his mind started the process of familiar clicks and whirs, piecing together and analyzing what it was she wanted him to figure out.

Sea bass roll. He'd eaten that when he took her from the hospital for their first shared meal.  
The first month. The first meal. This room. The first time she…  
A blush crept up his cheeks and he tentatively pushed away from the table, walking now towards only one spot.  
He reached out sideways and felt the wall. The memory came rushing back. He'd pressed her against it and kissed her.  
Sasuke stepped forward, kept taking more steps until his right foot hit solidly with the softness of a smooth armrest.  
The couch. Beige leather.

Sakura under him.

His stomach clenched.

Sasuke bent and his hands dragged along the cool leather, feeling nothing at first before his fingers brushed across smooth paper and tangled into what felt like a bow.  
A present. Present number two.  
"That was fast… Open it." Sakura murmured with a smile.  
The paper ripped and Sasuke unwrapped the gift, palms settling now along the corners of what felt like a box. A lid. He lifted it and reached inside.

His fingers pressed into something soft - wooly in some places and smooth in others. He pulled it out and dangled it, heard the clink of metal and knew it was a zipper. Felt the edges of sleeves and noticed the slight heaviness of the material.

"A jacket…?" Sasuke finally guessed, remembering their second mission for snow country.  
He heard her approaching footsteps before they stopped a few feet away and her voice came, laced in admiration.

"You got it, Sasuke-kun.."  
The raven-haired boy could hear the vague shift of her weight from one leg to the other before she finally spoke again. "… Now, the last present."  
"Sakura…" his voice broke into the room quietly, and the kunoichi looked at him as he draped the jacket along the couch.

"The first month… is it this important? … I-" His hands jerked as if he wanted to reach up to take off the blindfold, but he dropped his arms to his sides instead, raven head slowly lifting, seemingly focused somewhere along her sandals.  
"I would've… gotten you some thing."  
The words came out low and rushed, outwardly forced, and if Sakura didn't know him any better, she would have thought he hadn't meant what he said. But the kunoichi knew he'd meant every word.

"Once you find the third gift…" Sakura lowered her head and smiled, "I'll be just as happy."

She didn't even hear him rise from the couch when he was already moving across the room, making his way towards the bed. Of course it made sense. The third present was on the bed.

His first on the couch. Her first on the bed.  
The bed.

He lifted one leg over the mattress before he paused in hesitation. And then he was lifting his other leg up, feeling across the sheets. He found nothing close to his fingers.  
Sakura watched him with one fist pushed up to her lips, a smile lingering behind her fingers as her green eyes took in the sight of him, crawling around the white linen, hands propped up, pausing for moments at a time to ponder before continuing his unseeing inspection.

A few more seconds passed before he sighed in frustration and whipped his head sideways. "Tsh- Dobe, you're really enjoying this aren't you."

The kunoichi finally gave up trying to suppress her chuckling, and she delightedly considered him as he slid out across the bed and slumped over the sheets.

"It isn't here." The Uchiha's voice finally mumbled after a brief silence.  
"It's not." She confirmed with a controlled voice and a quivering smile.  
"But it's supposed to be." He pointed out dryly.

"The third is the most important gift…" Sakura proudly said as she gazed at his concentrated frown.  
His eyebrows snapped together underneath the black cloth, and he clenched his teeth.  
"I'm taking off this blindfold. Stupid gam-"  
"-Please…" she said, eyes pleading though he wouldn't be able to see, "think about it, first."  
The boy went silent and bent his head.

_Figure this out, Uchiha._

Underneath the blindfold, Sasuke had closed his eyes.

Thinking, thinking…  
The most important thing. Saving her life in the forest? The approval of her parents? But this game wasn't about her. If it was, then there would have been a present on the bed.  
His first meal. His first experience with her. His. His. About him.  
His first.  
….  
His FIRST.  
Sasuke's eyes flew open even if he could see nothing but darkness. His mind knew the answer. The most important thing. Why didn't it occur to him? Matakeh, he'd overlooked it.

How stupidly simple it was.  
With a push of his arms, he was off the bed and on the floor.

"Sakura…?" he called out.  
"Yeeees…?" She answered teasingly.

His head turned to the direction of her voice and a bright smile came across Sakura's face as she watched him make his way closer.

He wasn't feeling for anything anymore.

Sasuke was only within a few feet of the gift… and he would have continued walking if one leg hadn't slammed against the bookshelf near the table. The pain shot up his knee and the boy cursed. Tolerance finally snapping, he whipped off the blindfold and blinked against the sudden starkness of early morning light, finding himself closer to her than he'd expected.

"Do I have to say it." Sasuke snatched out sharply, twisting past the obstruction he'd slammed into. His obsidian eyes solidified with conviction. "It's you."  
The third present.  
Sakura's smile was all the confirmation he needed.  
_'You and I'…_ her voice echoed in his mind.  
_Hn. Don't think too much about that._  
_Oh… but I will._

"You're my…" Sasuke's voice trailed off, words lodged in his throat, pride refusing to admit anything more. But his eyes held the weight of what he knew.  
Just like always, she understood.  
"Happy monthsary…" The girl said with a soft smile and bright green eyes dancing in the morning light.  
_The first… I've ever lov… _The words were just as easily gone as Sakura's lips pressed to Sasuke's mouth.  
The blindfold in his hand fluttered quietly to the ground.

* * *

"How can you be…"  
_There is only Sasuke left here. Only him and his brother. The last Uchihas._  
The girl lifted her gaze to him, and Kakashi finally noticed the comforting familiarity he'd known all along in her eyes. Obito. Sasuke. He'd seen the penetrating, whisps of gray before. That was why.  
_Why I feel this way…_ the jounin thought, _when I look at her._

"Who are you…?" Kakashi silently asked. And Yume's eyes filled with confusion at his tone of voice.  
"Do you have something against the dead clan?" She drew away from him, with tinges of hesitation and hurt marring her beautiful clear expression.  
"No." the jounin answered firmly. "I have nothing against the Uchiha…. I-" his eye closed, and a gloved hand pressed into the top of his burst of pepper hair.  
"How." Kakashi repeated with a shake of his head before mutely lifting his one heavy-lidded eye at her.

She stood up and faced him, and with a properly composed breath, she told him her story.

Yume's grandfather had been the Uchiha's general secretary of arms. A brilliant military tactician and a loyal servant of Konoha. He lived a comfortable life amidst family and the clan's vast shared wealth.  
And even though Uchiha Yuroi had never married, he was a contented man much respected amongst his subordinates, a frequently consulted advisor by the ANBU.  
As a child in the ninja academy, he was one of the retired nidaime's favorites, admired by many for his strategic thinking and critical analysis.  
As a man he was often invited to sit among the Sandaime's wise council to share his ideas for Konoha's security system.

Yume's grandfather was satisfied, locked up in his quarters in the compound night after night, attending to his work and falling asleep with his head on the table, hidden among piles and piles of papers.

He'd never been the type to stroll around the village, let alone the empty streets at night. But during one fall evening when most of the clan were safe in their homes, when the night air was crisp with the smell of dry leaves and bitten with the chill of coming winter, he dawned a thick scarf, pushed his hands into his black coat and set off down the street in front of the compound.

"He met my grandmother, crying underneath a tree at the edge of the street. Her clothes were half-torn, her wooden slippers were gone and her coin purse had been taken…" Yume gave a sad smile and the jounin continued to watch her quietly, not wanting to interrupt.

She pushed on with the story.

The man crouched beside the sobbing woman asking her what had happened. As the woman lifted her tearful gaze, Uchiha Yuroi found himself staring into the greenest, most striking eyes he had ever seen. And as he picked her up, staring at nothing but the woman's indebted smile, he found himself falling in love.

Most of the clan knew he was sneaking out at night, seeing the simple village woman and slipping fast into a relationship that was labeled in a word, "inappropriate."  
In reality, the man's affiliation with the lower-class woman was "completely unacceptable" and when Yume's grandmother had gotten pregnant, the man was brought to stand before the Uchiha council of elders. A heated debate ensued wherein the man fought passionately for the clan's approval in accepting her as his bride. But at the end of the night, he was only presented with a choice.

Choose the pregnant villager… and all his ties with the clan is considered abolished, his position taken away, his possessions disposed off and his reputation soiled.

Choose the Uchiha clan… and he will be granted the freedom to see his lover and their child. But his first priority is to answer unfailingly to the needs of the clan, and if something were to happen to him, the woman and child would inherit nothing.

He had one night to decide.

As Uchiha Yuroi sat close to his rice paper windows, in the darkness, he took out a cigar, given to him by the Sandaime.  
And though the man had never learned to smoke in his life, he lit his first stick under the mute glow of that moonlight, thinking only of the girl and their unborn child.

Kakashi lifted his chin with understanding and finally looked at the girl beside him. "Your grandfather… chose to break away from the clan…"  
"Ironically, it's why my grandmother decided to keep the last name, Uchiha. Grandfather didn't care. But she insisted. If Uchiha was the clan he came from, then she would take the name with pride."

"Yes… Ironic." Kakashi commented lightly with a smile before reclining into the tree behind him. "And I suppose that's why you still use the name?"  
"Yes… partially."  
"Meaning?"  
"My father died on the field, the night the Yondaime did…"  
Yume's melancholic gaze was directed at the basket of flowers beside the stone, and she didn't notice the identical look of pain flit past the jounin's face before it was already gone.

"That day we mourned his death, some of the clan showed up to at least say a prayer or two… even if they never knew my father. Because of that… my mother couldn't hate them. And in turn, I never did either."  
A silence carried on after Yume spoke, and the wind preened through the trees as the sun rose higher and the day grew warm.

"My genin team…" Kakashi silently murmured, "One of them is an Uchiha."  
"The survivor of the clan murder?" Yume asked, eyes widening.  
"Sasuke…" the jounin provided, and his eye warmed with the mention of the name. "He's a good kid… confused about priorites, but good at heart."  
"I'd like to meet him. Them. All of them." The girl turned to him and her eyes struck him again, clear and deep.  
"Mm." The jounin smiled.  
"Mm?" Yume lifted her eyebrows and stepped closer.  
"Mm, I'm gonna be just a little late for my genin meeting today."  
Kakashi's face hovered close to the girl as he spoke the last sentence, and then he'd tucked a hand into his pants and waved her forward.  
"C'mon then, I'll introduce you."

* * *

The blonde's eyes squinted as he pushed forward with a concentrated scowl.  
Sasuke's equally dead stare unflinchingly met his and Sakura rolled her eyes at the both of them, trying not to stick too close to the heat ensuing from their silent battle.  
Suddenly Naruto's grand finger swung up into the air before plunging forward, pointing right into the Uchiha's forehead. 

"Hah! You carry the pots and pans." The fox-ninja snarled.

"Fine." Sasuke snapped, eyebrows grinding together irritated before he settled back. "Then carry the scrolls."

"Gyahah! Scrolls are lighter than pots and pans. Bring it on!" The blonde hollered with a glint in his eyes. He untied the utensils from his backpack and dangled the three or four different pans in front of the other boy's face.

"Goodluck." He slurred with a smug grin.

Sasuke took it, unzipped his backpack and shoved the cooking utensils inside. Then he took out the scrolls.  
"Here." The raven-haired boy had retracted five different ninja parchments, tossing them at Naruto one by one.

Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Transformation Arts.

The blonde ninja was able to stuff two into various pockets, but the other three didn't fit anywhere and after a moment he roared, frazzled he'd brought too much with him again.  
"Where the hell am I supposed to put these?" Naruto screeched.  
"That's your problem, dobe. You should have thought about it." Sasuke answered back smoothly.

The blonde boy struggled to taper down his rage.

Why was he so angry at Sasuke? Why did he always feel like he needed to defend himself? Why couldn't he act as cool, calm and collected as his stupid teammate?  
"Why is your backpack so small? Wanna starve to death? I'm not sharing my food with a moron like you."  
Naruto's spiky locks bristled, and he shoved his hands into his chest as he looked at the humble, beige knapsack strapped to the other genin's body.

"It's called 'practicality.' Learn it sometime." The raven-haired boy sighed, tired with the argument.

"Sasuke-kun?"

The blonde ninja still had a snarl on his face as he pulled away and looked at the pink-haired kunoichi standing a little way to the side.  
"What?" Beside him, Sasuke snapped.  
Again Naruto felt the bites of anger pouring thick red over his vision and he gave the other boy a burning cobalt glare of warning.

"Did you bring your jacket and the glow sticks for when it gets dark?" Sakura looked at him.  
Her green gaze was met with a cold dead stare and the boy answered mechanically, emotion lost to god-knows-where.

"I'm fine, Sakura. How about worrying for yourself and your tai-jutsu?"

"Can you be…" the blonde broke in with a vehement snarl, "just a bit NICER to Sakura-chan?"  
"I'll treat her the way I think its best to treat her." Sasuke answered cooly, turning to face the orange-clad ninja, whose fists were clenching tight against the sides of his trousers.

"You…" the blonde gritted his teeth, unable to stop the flow of insult, "…selfish… arrogant… motherf-"  
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, slinging her backpack to the ground and setting one foot forward between the two genin.  
Sasuke's obsidian eyes pierced into the kunoichi, cutting her retort down and strangling her breath.

"Stay out of this."

"Don't TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!" Naruto shouted, finally losing control, lunging forward and grabbing the boy's collar. "Don't treat her like trash!"  
"What the fuck, Naruto! You don't understand anything!" Sasuke snarled at him, slinging one hand over the boy's tightening fingers as he pushed against the hand choking his throat.

"I understand-" the blonde retorted sharply, "that you're not treating Sakura-chan the way she should be treated!"  
"Stop it!" The girl burst out, voice jerking dangerously with the beginnings of a sob, hands pressing tight into her chest.  
At the sound of her distress, Naruto's anger rose and he jerked the boy's collar forward.  
Sasuke fought and wrenched his head back, pushing his hands into the blonde's wrists and twisting painfully before the blonde roared and shoved the boy's shoulders back against the railings of the bridge they were on.  
"Naruto…" the boy glowered in warning, and his teeth clenched as he swiped a leg out, slamming it hard against the other boy's calves.  
"Gwa-" The blonde's muscles locked and his knees gave, but his hands stubbornly clung on and the weight yanked the other boy down with him to the dirt. Naruto twisted out, renewed his grasp and jerked the boy roughly with every word he said. "You're-not… treating… her… any-different… than… BEFORE-"

"It's better that way, idiot!" Sasuke shouted, pushing a hand out and grabbing a fistful of the blonde's jacket.  
"Stop it, Sasuke-kun! Please- Please… Naruto, what you're saying isn't true!" the girl wailed.

The pain of seeing her team argue wrung the tears from her eyes.

She could do nothing about it. Powerless like she always was against them both.

"Better?? You bastard! I trusted you, Sasuke. I trusted you! I thought you wouldn't hurt Sakura-chan! I thought-"  
"-Get off me, Naruto!"  
"-Will you two stop!!?"  
Naruto shook the dust out of his hair and pinned Sasuke down with a disabling move, the boy grunted, flashing his eyes intolerantly, the flickers of red pulsing into his obsidian irises. The color made the blonde even angrier. Sharingan? Sharingan, my ass.

"If Sakura-chan liked me the way she likes you…" the blonde clenched vehemently into the air between them, "I would treat her like a queen. I wouldn't abuse it, bastard. And I'd be happy instead of fucking-moody all the time like YOU." Naruto shoved the boy down with the last word, and Sasuke finally lost his temper.

With a burst of chakra from his abdomen, the boy bucked his knee up into the blonde's spine, hard enough so the air was knocked out and Naruto keeled over sideways with a grunt. Swiftly the other boy rolled off, bent over, and grabbed the boy's jacket with both his fists, yanking the fox-ninja up with him as he stood.

Naruto was still struggling for air when the raven-haired boy opened his mouth ready to tear into the blonde with a string of obscenities and chest-snapping retorts. But seeing the way Naruto's blue eyes lifted, not to his face, but sideways towards Sakura. Seeing the flood of regret, pain and striking adoration mirrored in the clear oceans of his gaze, Sasuke couldn't.  
He couldn't do it.

Naruto's eyes shot up at the other boy as he loosened his grip on his jacket. Face shadowed with the stubborn spill of raven locks. Sasuke understood.

His blonde teammate was only upset because he was treating Sakura badly.

_But today is different_, Sasuke reasoned with clenched jaws. _A mission is a mission_. And if he was gonna carry it out right, he needed the team to function the way it always did in the past.

_Let's just get this over with._

"What do you want Naruto?" the Uchiha quietly said, obsidian eyes settling hard on the blonde. "Wanna hurt me? … Punch me. C'mon, idiot. Do it." Naruto's fist clenched.

Seeing this, Sasuke rose to his full height and gave him an unflinching stare. "C'mon… Drop-out." He drawled. Something flickered across Naruto's gaze, and his canines gnashed.

"You want to, right, idiot? COME ON, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, HIT M-" And then the fist had slammed into his jaw, snapping Sasuke's face sideways. The shock of the force taking him before the pain streaked, grinding into the insides of his mouth and pressing into his nose.

Sasuke shut his eyes, reeling in the lightning sting, before he forced his eyes open, tasted the blood in his mouth and spat crimson to the ground.

Naruto saw the mess. And he turned away, a sick feeling twisting in his stomach, but satisfied.

Looking up into a blurry whirl of red and white, seeing trees for a split second, pink… and then something slapped across his face. Hard.

A hand.

His blue eyes looked up and met with icy, crystal green irises.

And Naruto didn't even think about the pain when he saw her.

The streaks of tears slipping down her cheeks, trembling with withheld anger.

She was pulling in breaths of air, wrenching with shaking sobs, her cheeks blooming with frustration. But even then, Naruto looked at her and saw she was beautiful.

Sakura-chan.

Why.

Why him.

"You never give me a chance to talk! Never! Sasuke-kun is nice to me! He's afraid, Naruto! He doesn't want our relationship… - THIS… relationship to change…" And then the girl had turned away, the gasps threatening to take the words over, sobs racking her body, shoulders jerking as the tears fell wet against her cheek, dropping into her hands as she covered her face.

_No._ Sakura thought sadly, _Even now, the relationship was taking a turn for the worse._

"Why can't the both of you just be friends…?" she whispered brokenly.

"Sakura-chan-"

"Why can't you just be NORMAL!" Sakura cried out helplessly against her palms.

Naruto watched the girl as she lowered to the ground, open-heartedly weeping now as her hands curled around her knees.

Sasuke raised his head, pushing a hand to his throbbing jaw. But the physical pain didn't bother him. Something else did.

Something in his chest clenched as he watched her - curled near the edge of the tree, helpless. Alone…

The Uchiha made to step forward, hovering then stopping. Before he could decide on moving again or not, Naruto was already there wavering near her bent form.  
The blonde's hand tentatively reached out to her shoulder, "Sakura-chan."

"Don't… touch me." She mumbled brokenly, bringing a pale hand up and weakly brushing the blonde's fingers aside.  
"Don't…"

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto repeated sorrowfully, eyes clouding over with the hurt of seeing her that way.  
The girl took shallow breaths, trying to even out the sharp pain clutching at her.

She didn't need this. She didn't like what was happening. He'd punched Sasuke-kun. She'd slapped him, unthinkingly.  
Why.  
What was happening to them, things had been getting better and now they were worse than before.

And then she heard it.

"Sakura…"  
The voice. His low tenor. She told herself she didn't want to hear it. Didn't want to be drawn to him. No more. She wanted to be left alone. She wasn't going to give in.  
But the girl felt the hesitant, awkward touch of his warm fingers against her shoulder, and she couldn't help the longing that rose inside her. She hadn't given it a second thought pushing Naruto away and in her mind she knew it wasn't fair.  
But how could she resist him? When he had never before reached out to her, when he was only now starting to care…  
Now that the boy was bending down next to her curled form, it was harder to move away.  
And when she saw the blue shirt and his raven hair, she could no longer stop her own selfishness.  
"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, looking up helplessly with moist eyes.

Naruto stepped away, his heart wrenching at the sight of the kunoichi lifting her head to him.

She drew her hands to her chest and then gave up, wrapping them around Sasuke's shoulders instead.

The raven-haired boy let her pull him forward, and he dutifully knelt into the grass as Sakura buried her face in his shoulder.  
The red dress merged with his blue cotton shirt and for a while she was silent against him.  
But soon Naruto heard the muffled sob, and Sakura finally lost her restraint, breaking down and quietly weeping into the boy's collar.

Naruto could see it. The way his teammate had his dark head forward, close to the kunoichi's buried face, silently waiting as her tears fell- … the mutual intimacy between them.

He had been wrong.  
Terribly wrong.

_You're jealous. You know you want Sakura-chan. It's always been Sakura-chan._ A voice inside him said.  
What about Hinata? You like her don't you? Don't you?  
Suddenly, his teal eyes were also threatening with tears of pain and conflict, with all kinds of emotions he couldn't distinguish. And he turned away, walking further off. He couldn't be near them, didn't want that bastard to see him this way.

"Sakura, stop it. You can't always be so weak."

"But I hate it. When you fight…" her voice cracked as she curled a hand into his shirt, "You know I hate it. Why are you always fighting with Naruto??" she pulled away with angry, moist eyes, "He's a good person!"  
Sasuke was silent and when he didn't say anything more Sakura shook her head.

That familiar smell – like sun-warmed linen and grass, fabric softener, it was comforting, even now. She wasn't aware her fingers had tangled into his hair.  
She couldn't hate him. Not even when he was wrong to take the blonde up on a worthless fight.

And then Sasuke was bending even closer, his hands bracing against the bark behind her. A slow breath and his voice came, quiet.  
"I…"  
Another breath.  
"I don't know why it happens… I ... don't know what to do anymore…"  
Sakura lifted her head, held back the tears as she looked into his shadowed face.  
The boy blinked into the darkness between them. It hurt. To confess he lacked direction, to confess he was clueless. But he did.  
Because it was Sakura. Sakura could see through him.

"Please, just … stop fighting." She whispered brokenly.  
"Then stop crying…" His voice trailed off. "I won't fight him anymore."  
She couldn't help the grateful lift of the corners of her mouth as he pushed his face up and looked at her.

The blood on his lower lip, oh god, she hated it.  
"Sasuke-kun…" Her eyes started to pool again.  
The boy snorted, looking away from her.

"It's just a punch." He muttered.  
And then the warmth was leaving her, pulling away and she blinked up into the glare of the sun as Sasuke rose and took a step back.

"Oi, Naruto!" the boy called without gusto, stuffing his hands into his pockets as his eyes scanned the area.  
Sakura's chest became just a bit lighter as she finally exhaled and pushed herself up, trembling still from the emotions that swirled inside her.  
"Naruto?" she called out breathlessly.

"Where is Naruto?" The voice behind Sasuke jerked his head around, and the genin found himself staring into a shinobi vest.  
"Kakai-sensei." Sakura murmured with a worried brow, hand coming up to swipe against her damp cheeks.  
"Mm-mm …What happened?" the jounin asked flatly as his eye went from the pink-haired girl to the genius-rookie. Sasuke wordlessly looked away and Kakashi's silver eyebrow rose as he placed his hands to his hips, studying both his students.

* * *

"Hello…" Yume pushed a hand to her silken black strands as she continued to look at the motionless boy sitting slack over a log a few meters away. 

"Lady… If you're lost, just take the path you see once you get out of the trees." The boy with shocking yellow hair mumbled, pushing a hand out to direct her to the grove's opening. "There."  
She chuckled and pushed her hands into the folds of her kimono, "I'm not lost… I stopped to pick flowers and I couldn't help noticing how sad you looked."  
Naruto continued to stare at the grass in front of his feet, too proud to show the woman in front of him that he was close to tears. "I'm fine, lady. Don't pay me attention…I'm-"

"-I'm fine." He repeated, more this time to himself as he gripped the bark on both sides of him.

Yume pulled up worriedly, looking his bright clothes over and noticing his forehead protector again. Indeed, he was a ninja. And he was wearing orange. And that blonde hair…  
"I'm sorry…" she stepped away, hesitating and then finally opening her mouth to ask "But… are you Naruto?"  
The boy jerked at the mention of his name and he finally looked up at her.  
"Yes…?" he answered uneasily, glistening blue eyes giving her a quick observant sweep.  
"Hatake's student!" Yume eased out with a small smile, watching the blonde numbly give a nod.  
"I was with him, on my way to meet his genin team. I suppose then-" she chuckled, "I was destined to meet you here."

"Well, at least he's not SO late when you're with him. Where is he?" The blonde dragged out.  
The girl opened her mouth to answer.  
"-Alright, fine, whatever. I was about to get up anyway." Naruto suddenly muttered, and Yume's eyes blinked at him curiously.

"Is… everything alright?"  
"I'm fine." Naruto wanted to shout, but the voice came out breathless a hurried snap.  
"Okay then." Yume nodded, taken aback by his temperament.

* * *

"A small fight." The jounin lazily mustered his tone with efficient sarcasm before eyeing the genin in front of him. "Sasuke, as your teacher and with the training I've given you, I am insulted that a 'small fight' can cause your jaw to swell so efficiently."  
"I told Naruto… to punch me." The boy closed his eyes, almost sending the jounin an invisible shrug in the process. 

Exactly what was happening to his team? If they even thought themselves to be just that.

"Up until this point- " Kakashi muttered, "…I've always believed you were a rational one, Sasuke."  
"We found him!" Sakura jolted both both teacher and student as she emerged from the trees with a wave of her hand.

Sasuke looked up to see a woman with long black hair, falling like a graceful waterfall down her shoulders. Her skin was pale and her eyes, large pools of clear gray. She reminded the genin of a tree rooted in the middle of a quiet snowy hill, silently beautiful and tragic all at once as she emerged from the bulk of fresh, spring branches.  
And then he saw the downturned face of his teammate, the shrug of orange garb, slowly following her out.

"I went for a walk." The blonde boy mumbled, looking up at his jounin teacher while carefully avoiding the stare of the other boy.

"Well, that wouldn't be such a bad idea," Kakashi mused before focusing Naruto with a confused beady stare, "…If you weren't reflecting on why you'd socked your teammate because he ordered you to."

Sasuke closed his eyes and Yume glanced sideways at the boy in blue who'd now stuffed his hands into his pockets and pushed back against a post on the bridge.  
Then this must be him.  
His left jaw was bruised reddish-purple, though despite that, the girl couldn't help noticing how his sharp features came together along his face in such attractive symmetry. Indeed he was Uchiha. To possess such fine, regal features… it was unmistakable.  
The lone survivor of that tragic night was this boy standing a little way in front of her.  
Uchiha Sasuke.

"Well, it's not the best of days…" The jounin's casual voice eased out beside her, and Yume turned to the pepper-haired man as he gave her an apologetic smile.  
"But these are my students - Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Genin team number seven. … This is my friend, Yume."  
Sasuke opened his eyes a crack in time to see the girl give a slight bow and an uneasy smile.  
He gave a lift of his eyebrows when he saw that the girl was looking directly at him.  
And then Sakura stepped up with a cordial bow of her own.  
"Ohayo... Yume-san." She greeted softly, face turned to the ground for a moment, as if gathering herself. And then the kunoichi looked up at the woman, her eyes flustered still but presentably sweet.  
"Yume… nee-chan…" The blonde suddenly mumbled, raising his apprehensive crystal blue eyes while giving her a slight twist of his whiskered cheeks, "Are you coming with us on the mission?"

"No, Naruto." The girl smiled beautifully, tilting her head until the black strands of hair cascaded down her shoulder. Both genin visibly relaxed as she gave them a bright look.  
"I've been hearing a lot about this genin team from Hatake… I only wanted to finally meet the three of you." And then she had pulled away with a tinkling chuckle, turning to the jounin beside her.  
Yume pressed a hand to her cheek as she looked at the three ninjas. "They are adorable, Hatake." the girl said after a moment's pause.

_Adorable? Hn._

Sasuke's eyebrows lifted, but he said nothing.  
His dark eyes were focused on his mentor as the man pushed a hand into his ash-gray hair, bouncing with a full chuckle of his own, quite pleased now, as he turned to the girl.

In all his time spent with the elite ninja, Sasuke had never seen the man react with this sheer delight to such a simply-paid complement.  
He watched his teacher talk to the girl in the white kimono and suddenly the jounin didn't seem much older than him anymore.  
Sasuke could read his teacher's body language almost as if it were spelling out the man's thoughts.  
The way he looked at her, teetered close when he spoke, lingered with discreet smiles…  
It was obvious.  
Kakashi liked her.

The genin settled back contentedly, working the soreness of his jaw as he silently waited out the play of flirtation.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

This chapters dedicated especially to Xairylle, who is my fellow Sasuke-fangirlfreak and my other-self!

Personally, I dont like this chapter very much. It's very... i dunno... eh..he...he-he... slinks away from the computer as she prepares for the harsh comments. I'M SORRY!!!!

Sasuke: (holds script of chapter) What The Hell.. is this?

Sakura: (hands at her waists) ... I cried AGAIN?!

Naruto: ... (looks at Sakura) ... well its alright for you, your a girl... but i was Yay-close to crying! That's just-

Sasuke: (shrugs) i dont think its so weird... not for you anyway.

Naruto: ... a... wa-...wa...!!! ...moron.

Sasuke: Matakeh, you can't even come up with a good retort... idiot.

Me: ... (raises a hand glumly) -yeah ... uhm... that's actually my fault.


	27. THE LONGEST ONE

CHAPTER 27: THE LONGEST ONE

**Author's Notes:**

**Most of you will probably be too lazy to comment once you get through this one. Haha, don't worry. I understand perfectly. :D**

**It's the longest chapter I've ever, ever, ever written. It's practically three in one. So if you get through it without sighing or skipping. CONGRATULATIONS! Seriously… You've just earned my respect.**

"Find him, find him, please!!!"

Naruto wasn't in the best of moods, but the sight of the small girl in front of him, pressed into the ground in her long flowing yellow robes made his eyes soften.

The little princess clung relentlessly to his right leg, her red eyes puffy from days of crying. The two advisors on either side of her only gave the orange-clad genin an embarrassed, apologetic smile and Naruto pushed his head down with a sigh.

"Yes, yes," the blonde looked wearily down at the girl, "we'll find him before you can say 'instant noodles'-"

"Instant noodles! Instant noodles!"

The princess pulled on his orange pants as she repeated the words, and the boy blinked down at her, giving her a crumbling look.

Her brown eyes glimmered with hope for a split second as she looked around the room, scanning the high ceilings of the stone palace, expecting her bird to come tearing into the corridors. Her eyes settled over Sasuke's blue shirt for a moment as he hovered near the door, and then the little princess' face changed into one of immense grief. She gave a loud, frustrated shriek when nothing happened, bunching her tiny fists into the folds of Naruto's pants and lowering her brown head into the material in yet another long bout of ear-piercing howls.

"Ahh… geez…" Naruto mumbled, casting his grey-haired teacher a look, as the girl rubbed her tear-soaked face into his pants.

Kakashi smiled at him, and the blonde frowned distressingly, trying to move his cramped leg away from the little child. She didn't budge, and her arms tightened stubbornly over his calf as she hiccuped.

"Maaaahhh Kakai-sensei!" the blonde finally blurted out, as close to sobbing himself.

"Alright, alright. It's okay, princess…" Naruto looked down as a flash of pink settled under his nose, and he saw Sakura crouching with her arms laced around her legs, close to the child. The kunoichi's hand reached out, wiping a damp strand of brown hair from the little princess' forehead and she smiled as the child blinked up at her, startled.

"We're special ninjas. And we're gonna look for your bird, okay?" Sakura cajoled with a cheerful face.

"Promise you'll find little prince?? Promise?" the girl's grip loosened considerably on Naruto's trousers and the blonde boy took the opportunity to quietly retract his leg before backing up a safe distance away from her arms.

"We'll… try our best." Sakura murmured truthfully with a nod of her head.

The small girl, barely five years old, and already entitled to inheriting the whole kingdom, now raised her large, wet eyes at the kunoichi. Her hands forgot all about the solidity of Naruto's leg and she pushed herself up, fingers curling to her chin as she gazed at the girl in front of her.

"…I like your hair." The little girl sniffled, losing the muffled words into the cracks of her fingers as she quietly blinked up at Sakura.

"…Thank you." The pink-haired shinobi said with a gentle smile, before reaching out to give the small child a light stroke to the head. Finally, the kunoichi pushed up to a stand and the senior advisor came forward.

"Please…" he murmured looking first to Sakura before glancing over at the jounin teacher. His white moustache scraped idly along his weathered cheeks as he gave a bow, "Do your best."

Kakashi gave a nod and reciprocated the gesture before he turned around and looked at his students.

"…Well, then," the jounin tucked a hand into his vest. His eye closed into a halfmoon and he gave a soft smile paired with a tilt of his head.

"Let's start setting up."

* * *

The forest grew eerily quiet as Samehada's hunger rippled through the air. Itachi could feel it pressing into his pores as he gathered himself into a tree opposite the blue-skinned shark ninja. 

Even the animals and insects seemed to notice the terrifying weight of the sword's intent and the wind grew cautious, only boldly pushing time and again at the leaves hanging low across the two Akatsuki member's heads.

"Repress it. Or Hatake Kakashi will notice." Itachi said in a low voice, his mouth pressing intently into his cloak as he scanned the horizon.

The sharingan-user could see Kisame's menacing grin glint in the darkness, and the shark swept a steady, powerful hand out over the bandages of the vicious weapon, silencing it.

Instantaneously, the particles in the air settled, and a blanket of calm drifted down over the shadowed forests.

Gradually, the sounds of cicadas and birds returned, soft chirps and reluctant whines that increased as slow, silent moments passed between the two ninjas.

"Kisame…"

The shark turned at the call of his name, and he adjusted his stance over the thick branch before tucking Samehada into the gauze holster strapped to his back. The man was fairly attentive as he focused on the unfamiliar coal-black shade of Itachi's eyes.

"Stick with the plan this time."

The older Uchiha's eyes continued to stare lifelessly at the ninja in front of him. And Kisame gave him a stubborn, intolerant look as his gravelly voice hissed out at the silence.

"You think you can control me?"

The blue-haired shark gave a low, breathless chuckle, scrutinizing his partner with hard eyes before shaking his closely-cropped blue hair in disapproval.

"Not at all." Itachi answered, raising his oddly enchanting eyes to the ninja. "But we can't afford to lose this chance… you know that as well as I do."

The other man seemed satisfied with the answer and he turned away, shark eyes looking out into the darkness, before he finally asked the essential question. "Which shall we use…?"

The dark bangs stirred against the other Akatsuki member's handsome face, and Itachi closed his eyes breathing in the dewy air that told him the sun was setting. After a moment, he replied, voice as silent as the thumps of a heartbeat.

"I won't let your efforts go to waste, Kisame. We will use them both."

"The copy-ninja does have a soft spot for women." The shark heatedly replied, sliding a pale tongue across his pointed teeth.

"As the plan goes, I shall concern myself with that. On the other hand…-" Itachi grew silent and the conversation stopped, because the two missing ninjas felt it.

How delicious this strong force was.

The sharingan-user looked out from under his thick eyelashes as the sound of heavy, creaking doors opened and a young boy's voice shattered the silence of the clearing in front of them.

For the first time, he saw the blonde hair. The ridiculously bright orange outfit. It didn't interest him in the least because he was too busy savoring the powerful flickers of hostile chakra hidden within that warm body.

_Naruto._ he spoke deep in his mind as he watched the boy push out into the open, flinging his arms up at the darkening sky and letting out a sharp whoop.

From their vantage point, Itachi understood nothing of what the boy was yelling into the air around him. But his eyes swept greedily over the ninja's form, seeing the unfathomable magnitude despite his feisty, innocent, boyish features. The vessel. Such a young, oblivious thing. He was purely unaware of his own capabilities.

Kisame couldn't help grinning as he glanced at his partner. "Amazing, isn't it?"

The other man continued to watch the boy, who was swinging his arms out now, sweeping low to pick at a blade of grass before tucking it into the side of his lip.

"Yes…" Itachi admitted after a moment. And his lips moved to form a small smile. One that gave off no happiness or joy, and appeared dead and cold. "…The boy is tiny." He continued softly.

Kisame folded his arms under his robe and chuckled as he looked out at the blonde genin.

"Our creature must be insulted."

The older Uchiha settled back into the bark behind him and his eyes flashed for little more than a moment before the spark was gone. "That is why we are going to free it."

The man felt a slight bite of anticipation, nothing but a brush against his departing senses. And then his dark eyes had settled over another shadowed form walking meters away from the noisy blonde boy.

A girl, only a little taller than the Kyuubi vessel, with pink hair.

Itachi didn't think her of much importance. He already knew at a glance. She was nothing less than a burden to the group. Not unique in any way. Nothing special.

She paused to talk to the tall man beside her, and Itachi narrowed his eyes observing Hatake Kakashi's unreadable face as he lowered to listen to his student.

He seemed not at all to have noticed anything. But one could never tell with such a man. Even back when Itachi had been ANBU, he'd heard word of the jounin having a firm mastery of the art of deceit.

What a burden it was now… to have to deal with someone like him.

And then the older Uchiha's thoughts disappeared as he looked at the last shadow lingering behind the group. The boy had his hands tucked into his pockets, and now as he studied the familiar figure from a distance, Itachi noticed Sasuke had acquired a certain posture. Shoulders slack in an endless abandon of everything around him, his head dipping low, but his eyes piercing ahead. The angle of his face accentuated the stubborn height of spikes riding high like black fire behind his head. His brother looked more indignant now than ever. The look of solid pride carved into his furrowed eyebrows and oddly-closed eyes as he peppered his sure-footing with even, fluid steps.

No longer a clumsy child.

His eyes caught the very familiar logo of the fan on the boy's back and without understanding why, the older Uchiha turned away.

And then he heard Kisame's gruff, silent chuckles once again. Slowly Itachi raised his head, watching his companion as the man peered out at the clearing with sharp eyes.

"I was wrong about your family, Itachi…"

The older Uchiha narrowed his eyes at Kisame, and the missing-nin cocked his head slightly in the direction to which he had not stopped looking.

The sharingan-user found himself watching his brother yet again.

A motion from in front, and Itachi was looking at the girl from earlier. Her red dress swiped at the wind as she paused in the middle of the field and she turned her head slightly, as if waiting for the raven-haired boy's approaching form.

The older Uchiha couldn't help tightening as he saw the girl give Sasuke a warm, significant smile.

And the look in his little brother's eyes as he turned his head to her…

Even from this far away, Itachi could see it.

He swallowed stiffly, trying to control whatever emotion it was that was threatening inside him now. It had been a while since he'd felt anything at all. And it had been even longer since he'd felt this…

Was it? Yes - surprising as it was - panic.

Sasuke gave the girl a lift of his mouth. A smile.

No, Itachi thought vehemently, his brother was not supposed to be smiling. There was no reason for him to be doing so.

The confusion left, replaced now with anger.

She was reaching for his hand. And Itachi's eyes flickered ever so slightly when Sasuke allowed her to touch his fingers.

The boy held on for longer than a moment, before they mutually broke the contact and he gestured for her to keep walking.

She took a few steps and he followed. Like a dark angel watching over her.

A sudden immensity of frustration flooded him.

"Not all of you are woman-haters after all." Kisame's voice declared, shattering the older Uchiha's concentrated observation.

His companion gave another guttural chuckle. And that was when Itachi felt it. The rising tides of Rage in its purest form. Coating his irises in a red as crimson as the blood he no longer hesitated to spill.

Sasuke was supposed to grow in hate. He had planned nothing else for his little brother. And now…?

"Allow me to alter the plan." The older Uchiha spoke with dangerous finality. And the shark said nothing, knowing his partner well.

When Itachi made his mind up to do something, resistance was rendered futile.

There was no point in arguing otherwise.

* * *

The sun was setting fast, and the blonde ninja shrugged his thick white collar higher up his neck to stop the chills from prickling at his exposed skin. He winced as the brambles tangled with his jacket and scratched at his skin. And then with a grunt, the genin yanked the last trap open and looked down from his tree. 

On the other side, Sasuke had just jumped off a low branch, pulling at multiple wires with his teeth and fingers as he secured the fish net high over his portion of the forest.

"How many now?" The lazy-looking jounin turned to the girl beside him.

"That's… 25 traps and 15 nets." Sakura announced, lowering the clipboard in her hand and squinting at the last rays of sun cutting into her eyes from behind the tangled branches.

She watched the shadows of the two boys working within the trees before looking over at the jutting cliff to the left.

Tomorrow, they would be skirting the rocks. And that was the part she hated most. Sakura was never fond of heights. And the stone village just happened to be planted right in the middle of all the high, edgy mountains, cracked earth and canyons.

Their target, little prince, could be anywhere.

A sudden ear-splitting snap ripped across the air and both student and teacher jerked up in time to hear Naruto holler an obscenity as the branch under his feet cracked, dragging down along with it one rectangular steel trap.

The blonde's hand shot up and he yelped, hanging tight to the branch above his head, kicking out at air as the branch below him thunked against the trunk and the trap hurtled to the ground, smashing into the ground in a painful clatter of metal parts.

"Ahhh no!" Naruto pushed his head up wearily and moaned as he hugged the branch.

Kakashi lowered his head to Sakura, and the girl wrote over the clipboard, ticking one trap from the list.

"…24 traps and 15 nets." She updated in a low voice.

A light thump in front of them, and Sasuke was lowering to the sack in the ground.

"I'll go help." He muttered, rummaging around the bag and pulling out another, slightly smaller trap.

The kunoichi glanced at his dark head before looking back up at the tree, where the blonde boy was still dangling sullenly. It wasn't that Naruto couldn't come down, Sakura observed, it was that he didn't want to.

"25 traps. Careful, Sasuke-kun." The girl couldn't help chasing out, as the boy got up.

The only reaction to her words was a flicker that passed through his dark irises as he unscrewed the trap. And then he'd shrugged the black locks away from his face, gathering chakra before pushing up into the nearest branch.

"Oi, Naruto."

The blonde's eyes were closed, and he slowly opened them as he heard Sasuke pulling himself up another branch closer to him.

"Here." The dark-haired boy said, holding out the new trap to his teammate.

Naruto made no move to take it, and he exhaled through his nose, looking away from the boy.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he kept his arm out, waiting patiently for the genin to swallow his pride and take the offered cage. But Naruto's blue eyes suddenly shifted to his, and the boy saw the irrepressible emotions swirling within the orange-tainted, glowing center.

"Sasuke," he started, "as hard as it is for even me to believe, I didn't really want to punch you."

"You threw your hand out the moment I ordered you to," the raven-haired boy scoffed, with a sarcastic twist of his mouth.

"…You were treating Sakura-chan badly! I wanted you to wake up!" Naruto suddenly shouted down at him, eyes flaring with blue heat.

"-You two better not be going at each other's throats…" A voice floated up from below. And the two genin glanced down to see their jounin teacher leaning against the base of the tree, the familiar Icha-Icha book once again gripped between his fingers. Kakashi's head showed no signs of looking up, and after a moment, he'd flipped a new page over with a tired sigh.

Sasuke's anger waned slightly, leaving more of the exhaustion in its wake.

He saw the same worn-out look in Naruto's lowered, teal eyes.

"I'm not happy." The blonde mumbled.

"I'm not stupid." Sasuke curtly replied, "I know you aren't."

The orange-clad ninja's eyes jerked as he turned to his teammate's face.

"You still like her." The raven-haired boy indicated.

Like it was the most boring thing in the world. The flat, emotionless tone. Naruto hated it even as he felt his face growing warm.

_But Sakura-chan… _

_She should be happy. _

_She will be happy. _

"I like Hinata." The blonde forcibly bit out.

And the sudden wave of shock that pried Sasuke's mouth open was almost worth his pain and guilt.

"-Wh..at?" the dark-haired boy incredulously struggled to choke out.

"I found out from Kiba, that she liked me. And Hinata said it, and-" Naruto's blue irises darted sideways before shooting up solidly at Sasuke's wide stare. "And so, I like her! ... Sakura-" the blonde almost hesitated, "-is just a friend I care about."

The Uchiha listened for a moment and then recovered with a careful closing of his mouth. He scrutinized his teammate until Naruto was mentally digging his nails into his palms.

And then the tensai-genius surprised him with a generously arrogant smirk.

"Are you saying, Naruto…" the Uchiha's voice flowed, "that if I kissed Sakura in front of you, you wouldn't feel jealous at all?"

The mildness of the boy's tone betrayed the sensitivity of the question and for a moment Naruto thought he heard wrong, until Sasuke gave him an unfaltering look and his lips drew up. "Yes, dobe … we do kiss."

The blonde paled at the outright confession. And just as quickly he turned crimson, the heat covering his face profusely.

"Sa-...Sasuke- You talk about it... like- its- its-"

"-so simple." the Uchiha provided abruptly. His keen onyx eyes observed Naruto. "It should be. That is... if you don't care at all."

Naruto could only stare.

He wasn't supposed to be shocked. His two teammates were together, what else could he have expected? Kissing should be something couples do.

But the sharpening ache burying into his chest didn't go away and Naruto swallowed as he yanked his gaze towards the darkening forest. And then it was too late because before he knew it, the words had left his lips.

"I don't … care. Go ahead, teme."

A slight wind rustled the trees, taking with it a flurry of dead leaves and dirt. Silence pressed between the two teammates.

The sound of rusted steel snapping together, jerked the blonde's gaze back to his teammate.

"Traps set."

Sasuke jostled the metal one last time to test its stability against the branches before he looked into fading cobalt. In Naruto's eyes, an expression had settled. A foreign look of Defeat. As final as all the times Sasuke had pushed his face hard into the ground, signaling the end of a sparring session. Owarida.

The boy turned away from the shadowed face of his teammate, and he blew his dark locks away from his eyes before calling down at their teacher.

"25 traps, 15 nets. Operational."

From many meters below, the jounin mutely closed his pocketbook. His eye fell across the ground in contemplation. If only his students knew how much he'd already pieced together.

"Mah, alright then." He called out with a sigh, finally squinting up at the two dark, faraway shadows high in the trees. "We'll check the area in the morning."

"Let's go."

Sasuke pushed off from the highest branch, landing on lower, slimmer bark a few feet below.

The blonde ninja didn't want to even be near him.

It was funny, how he suddenly wanted to be alone.

As he looked to the opposite side of the tree, into the darkness of the forest floor far down below, he could see no light. Couldn't even see the branches that would propel him lower to wherever the grassy ground was. The best way was to follow Sasuke.

_Follow Sasuke? _

_No,_ the genin decided.

_I'm tired of following Sasuke._

His eyes hardened.

Out of sheer anger, silent rebellion, careless idiocy, he didn't care. The blonde pushed up from his branch and jumped the opposite way down the tree.

"To the inn now, ne? Kakai-sensei?" Sakura said with an even bigger smile and sparkling sea-green eyes.

"Yes." the jounin said before gesturing at the sack near her ankles, "Ask Naruto to help you with that on the way ba-"

The blonde saw the shadow of a branch under his feet. Only briefly did he touch on solidity before the impossibly loud snap of splitting bark tore through his ears. Naruto barely had time to utter anything else before gravity yanked him down, slamming against one stray bramble before plummeting in a crashing racket meters and meters down.

"What-" Sakura started. Her pink head whipped towards the darkness of the woods.

The kunoichi let out a sudden gasp when the flash of white and army-green beside her shot up towards the ear-splitting sounds.

Sasuke turned at the loud thundering noises, eyes widening as he caught the shadow slamming into a branch a little way above. _Matakeh._ The thick trunk pressed into his back as he skirted past it and looked up. Without thinking, he'd uttered the genin's name. "Naruto!"

A slight shade of orange, a snap of a branch, barely a split second, a thunk and then another barrage of cracking wood, his teammate was still falling, harder and faster aided by the pull of gravity.

Sasuke saw the blonde hair hurtling only a few feet above him. He could make it in time.

Without a second thought his legs pushed off and the Uchiha was leaping higher.

He landed abruptly only a meter away, looking up at the darkness exploding in sharp brambles around him.

Small bits of bark fell into his face, down the inside of his collar, and a twig hit across his forehead protector, but the boy clenched his jaw and slid down a branch, tore his head sideways and saw the screeching orange rocketing down in front of him.

There!

Sasuke reflexively reached out, catching at the side of Naruto's jacket as he fell screaming.

The Uchiha's hand gripped tight at the branch behind him, while his other held fast, fingers latching hard onto the thick material of the boy's orange clothes.

"Aahhhh!!!" The blonde's voice pierced into Sasuke's ears before the weight of his body yanked the rookie's arm down sharply, his knees were forced into the wood and Sasuke knew even before it happened. This wasn't the best position for him.

He tried to twist his arm so the joint of his elbow wouldn't collide with the branch under him, but his fingers remained locked over Naruto.

Too far from the ground. He couldn't let go.

So the rookie only closed his eyes and lifted with all his strength. C'mon Uchiha.

Let it be enough.

Let it be enough.

_... Shit._

It was not enough.

The Uchiha's pale arm slammed hard into the bark and Sasuke's eyes flew open as he heard the snap. A different kind that brought a chill up his spine and reverberated through him. And then the blinding pain came, sweeping up into the nerves of his arm, down to his fingers and up his shoulders before flooding his entire body with agony.

"Auugghhhh!!!" Sasuke cried out, pushing his face hard into the scratchy bark as he held fast to the heavy weight dangling from his fingers.

The genin pushed his teeth together, barely holding on as a flash of white hair shot out below him.

Just as suddenly, the weight was gone from the rookie's fingers and Kakashi landed beside the writhing genin, cradling an unconscious Naruto in his arms.

"Augghhh… aaahh-that… I …diot!" Sasuke tore out, panting. The pain was excruciating. And the boy couldn't help the rapid rise and fall of his chest, the panicked breaths being drawn in through tight lips. He couldn't move his arm. What was wrong with his arm?

"Sakura!" the boy heard the jounin sharply bark out.

The rookie shut his eyes tight when his vision refused to focus on anything. His head felt light, strangely blurring with small sparkles of white dancing amidst the blackness. And he briefly wondered about the damage before abruptly dismissing the thought unable to think about it.

"Sensei! Sasuke-kun!!!"

The moments seemed to slow as Sasuke pushed his uninjured fingers hard into the bark. The sweat - cold and beady, broke out over his skin, and the chills swept up his back as the wind increased. He opened his eyes and saw red - her red dress and green sandals as she landed lightly in front of him.

The girl was lowering, with short breaths. "Sasuke-kun… Sasuke-kun!"

"-Stay with him. I'll bring Naruto down." Kakashi's voice was already fading as he plummeted.

"Nnnnngh… clumsy…usura…tonkachi…" Sasuke bit out with a groan, cursing into the bark. His eyebrows drew together in agony, body curling, and his knee kicked out from the pain.

"Sasuke-kun, don't move…" the girl cautioned distressingly, holding a hand out and stroking it over his back.

The boy felt the warmth of her fingers.

"Sakura…" he finally groaned. Not knowing why he had to say her name. And then he felt her fingers lace into his free hand - the one that wasn't lifelessly dangling towards the space below them.

"Hold on," she said with surprising calm, "Kakai-sensei is coming."

Sasuke closed his eyes, latching on to the comforting whisper.

A sharp throbbing had settled over his injured arm, and as the boy adjusted himself, he noticed the lifeless sway of his limb. Still no movement. This was bad.

"I'm gonna kick that idiot's ass…" he ripped out numbly, before he felt the girl's fingers gently squeeze into his palm.

A slight breeze ruffled his raven locks, and after a moment, Kakashi was bending low next to the girl with a resolute sigh.

"It just had to be this one." The jounin spoke low into the silence.

"Kakai-sensei?" Sakura's voice rose, "what do you mean?"

The teacher's eye scanned methodically over the dangling limb.

"His left arm."

And then the pained genin realized what the jounin was implying. It was his stronger arm. The arm that unfailingly called out his most lethal jutsu. He took a breath, low and deep, swallowing the throbbing grate of agony.

"How long?" he asked, as evenly as he could.

"I'm not sure." Kakashi bent low to look at his student, before his head gestured backwards. "Let's get you down to find out."

---

"Dislocated."

The word brought both relief and irritation to the rookie, and he turned his head to Naruto, who had somehow been knocked unconscious, the blow to his head tended to with tight bandages and Sakura's constant observation.

Kakashi moved his face down the odd angle joining across Sasuke's elbow. "I thought I taught you how to maneuver your body properly for this."

"Between the second I landed and catching the falling idiot, the 'maneuver' didn't really occur to me." The genin muttered with a narrowed stare.

"Find something to hold on to…" the jounin ignored his student's sarcasm before casting him an expressionless look. "This will hurt."

"Just do it." Sasuke mumbled.

And the words were barely out when Kakashi forced a quick weight on his arm and the pain ripped mercilessly into the seams of his consciousness. The genin wasn't aware he was crying out. There was an intolerable ringing in his ears ironically much like the sound of silence. And his eyes flew shut, unnoticed tears leaking from the tight slits before he heard an approaching shuffle and felt a soft reassuring, oddly misplaced something in his free hand. He inhaled sharply and her smell dominated the fringes of his mind. Sakura's hand.

He squeezed hard on her fingers and the girl bit her lip at the rookie's powerful grip.

"Okay, this last push fixes it." Kakashi's voice came from the left.

More pressure, grinding, mounting in force. Another bout of pain, thankfully more dull this time, and the boy didn't even have the chance to swear before he heard the mute click and felt the jerk of his arm popping back. The feeling of having an obstruction jammed into his forearm disappeared and he sucked in the air, obsidian eyes lifting dizzily towards the jounin's face.

"One week. Don't move it around, don't think about using it. If that joint slips back out, I'm not fixing it." Kakashi's stern voice betrayed the look in his eye. And he briefly considered Sasuke for a moment before pushing up and making his way over to the blonde boy sprawled over the grass.

"Well, now you have a reason to start learning one-hand seals." The soft voice of the girl beside him propelled Sasuke's sideward glance.

Blearily, he eyed Sakura. And then the boy gave an expressionless snort and lowered his head to the blades of grass in front of him.

The girl continued to look at the tips of his black bangs, the curve of his jaw, unable to take away the warmth and intensity swelling painful inside her chest.

For Naruto, he'd saved unthinkingly.

In a heartbeat's decision, like all the times in the past.

And now he was quiet, resigned in calm acceptance even if he wouldn't be able to perform his duties to the best of his ability.

Seven days.

He wouldn't let the injury stop him from carrying out the mission. She knew.

Sakura considered everything.

And her chest tightened.

How she loved him for all that. For being him.

"I'll take care of you, I'll protect you."

Sasuke's eyes lifted as he heard the girl's steady, promising voice.

Her breath danced across his pale, battered cheek and then her soft lips came forward, pressing into his skin with a kiss.

"Dobe, do you even know what you're saying?" he muttered, brushing aside the longing to press close to her as she pulled away.

"Of course!" Sakura declared, showing him an exaggeratingly offended expression.

And then her green eyes glinted in the darkness as her mouth formed an imitation of a smirk that appeared far too familiar to the Uchiha.

"…Dobe." Sakura playfully mocked him.

Despite the pain, the boy's eyebrows lifted in amusement more than irritation.

Sakura pushed a hand out to teasingly knock at his jaw and the boy listened to her as she laughed.

Suddenly unminding of the shrill throb on his left side, the exhaustion, the hunger, and, perhaps, just maybe,… the probing stare Kakashi was openly giving them from two meters away.

---

Naruto was falling, crashing into a gaping darkness that reached up around him. And then something had yanked him, he'd slammed hard into the trunk and a hard stump had slammed into his head, knocking him out.

The blinding pain came, a startling flash of white and then… screaming.

"Gyaaaaahhhhaa!!!" The blonde jerked up wildly and he instinctively reached out for the nearest thing to grab, digging his chin violently into a fluff of ash-gray.

"Ah… ouch." A voice under him apprehended softly.

Naruto blinked, focusing into an exhausted, heavy-lidded eye turning sideways to him. His hands were apparently latched on to the jounin's hair.

"Kakai-sensei…" he shrieked, shrill and panicked to discover he was still high above the ground.

"It's okay, Naruto. You blacked out." The jounin below him said.

The blonde looked around, finally noting his teacher's arms slung securely around his legs. The ground was swaying, and Naruto realized the jounin was carrying him on his back, and that they were walking.

"Sasuke…" the blonde suddenly said.

His blue gaze met with an expectant dark look a little way in front. Sasuke's tired obsidian stare.

And then his heart gave a little squeeze as the girl next to him turned her head around, pink hair flitting against her cheeks and wide eyes.

"Finally." She said with an upset tilt of her head and drawn eyebrows.

"You had us worried for a while."

The blonde lowered meekly into the hair in front of him before giving her a forced grin.

"Ah… Sorry, Sakura-chan. How long was I out?"

"30 minutes." The boy beside her finally spoke, giving him a look devoid of any emotion.

The fox-ninja moved his head and caught sight of the tight gauze wrapped around the boy's arm. Two make-shift wooden sticks had been bound in with the bandages. Naruto was about to lean further out to scrutinize when he heard the voice of Kakashi from below.

"Naruto, relax. If you keep moving your head around, you'll experience vertigo and dizziness. I don't want you throwing up."

"What… happened?" the blonde asked, confused.

"You fell…" the jounin provided, simply. "And Sasuke rescued you."

"Ehh??" Naruto screeched, before studying Sasuke's back.

He waited for the raven-haired boy to turn around, but he didn't.

"Oi…" Naruto said after an awkward pause. "Sasuke."

"Mm." the boy responded without glancing at him.

Unconsciously, Naruto found himself looking down at the bandages on the other boy's arm and after a moment, he closed his eyes and turned away. "Thanks."

A little way in front, the Uchiha lowered his head, discreetly pressing an almost undetectable smile into his collar.

After just a brief silence, the jounin started to hum a random melody just out of habit. Something he occasionally did, perhaps to drive away the boredom.

The sound was comforting and Naruto found himself nuzzling into his teacher's head.

"I want ramen." He mumbled into the soft locks.

"As always."

The boy listened to the muffled chuckles coming from his jounin teacher.

And after a moment Naruto smiled.

A sad but grateful curl of his mouth, the whiskered cheeks pulling up only slightly.

His arms linked tighter around Kakashi's vest and the fox-ninja blinked down at the gray head with newfound warmth.

* * *

"But I thought you were dating the brunnette… what was her name?" 

Atom scratched his head with one hand while he balanced the Hokage's paperwork with another. Beside him, Daisuke was struggling with a heavy file box of the hospital's medical records as they pushed up the stone steps towards the godaime's headquarters. In the distance below, they could hear the slight trill of crickets and see the waning yellow lights of warmly-lit Konoha houses.

"I forgot her name." the purple-eyed jounin shrugged into the darkness.

"… You know what? I change my mind. Your not gonna die in some heroe's battle. All your neglected women – and their conspiring to kill you - that's gonna be your death." Atom muttered.

"Yes well, we're only young for so long-" Daisuke started with a quirk of his mouth before the sight of a weathered, hunched-over old woman greeted both jounin at the top of the stairwell. _Right on cue._

In the glow of the lantern outside the godaime's office, the smaller jounin could make out the simple villager's wrinkled face, stretched with lines of worry, the dull greens of her eyes glistening with the weight of exhausted panic. She stretched out a hand as she saw them, waving the two young shinobi to her. "Please…" the old woman called out breathlessly, clutching her robe closer to her chest, "Please- tell me – when the Hokage will be back?"

Daisuke spat the toothpick from his mouth before he set the heavy box in his hands down with a heavy thud.

"Sorry, ba-chan, we don't know…" He provided with a twist of curios mouth.

Atom tucked the papers under one broad shoulder and his eyebrows drew together as he looked at the old woman. "Is there something wrong…? Ba-chan, you seem-"

"-My granddaughter-" the old woman cried, unable to hold in her words. Her entwined, weathered fingers pushed together so tightly, her bony knuckles turned white, "my girl, she's missing. I've searched the forest and the town, but noone has seen her… It- it really isn't like her to do this-"

Atom's bear-like form dwarfed the old woman's as he approached. "Are you sure, ma'am, perhaps she was delayed by a friend? Maybe she'd mentioned something you might have just forgotten-"

"No," the gray-haired villager slowly shook her head, and her sagging mouth quivered ever so slightly as she closed her eyes. "No… my Yume makes it a point everyday, to make lunch for us. But she hasn't yet come home… and its past dinner, Please-" She reached out to clutch at Atom's black shinobi sleeve. "I know my granddaughter well. Something isn't right."

"…What isn't right?" a woman's voice from behind caused the three of them to turn towards the darkened stairway.

"Hokage-sama." Atom and Daisuke reverendly called as simultaneously gave a cordial bow.

Tsunade emerged from the darkness, her green robe and long baby-blonde pigtails illuminated now by the bright lantern. Her golden eyes shot starkly from one jounin to another before settling on the smallest, hunched-over form between the two.

"Hokage-sama…" the old woman uttered brokenly with a threatening burst of a sob, and before Tsunade could say anything else, the silver-haired villager had lowered herself to the ground awkwardly in a bend of stiff limbs, planting her frail arms over the concrete ground. Her head lowered as she blinked at the hokage's shadow… "I beg you. I- I humbly ask for your help!"

The blonde's eyes widened and she lowered in a billow of long, green robes. "Na…hah, ba-chan-" she frantically bit out, "I'll have none of this! Please get up. I won't have you begging." The hokage quickly reached out to grip at the old woman's arm and Daisuke leapt forward to assist with the support to her other shoulder. Atom effortlessly carried the two stacks of paperwork and together, the four shadows slipped into the village leader's headquarters.

* * *

The girl's frantic breaths squeezed out from the damp cloth tied repeatedly around her mouth. Several times she'd tried to scream when the only thing that she could manage was a muffled, throaty moan of panic. 

Minutes, hours, noon or night – she could no longer tell. Time seemed to drag by, taking with it, what little strength she still had after her encounter.

She'd fought with all she could muster but it had been futile. The form that had snatched at her - the dark, faceless, shapeless creature that had gurgled incoherent words and then smothered her with liquid force – Yume didn't know what it was.

She remembered fighting in alarm, discovering with a catch of panicked breath that her fingers merely clawed into wetness that felt icily cold to the touch. She remembered looking, horrified, into swirling vacant holes for eyes, before she'd let out a high scream at the sight and a glistening watery fist had smacked hard, with the force of a solid rock, into the vulnerable portion of her neck, silencing her with the onset of sudden darkness.

The next she knew was waking up in this windowless concrete room, chained helplessly to a wall, with nothing and noone to base the time and place on.

What was happening. She struggled to chew at the now-damp cloth around her sore mouth and uttered a frustrated sob at the pain of clenching her jaws. Her throat felt scratchy from screaming and as she moved her tongue, Yume tasted the startling sharpness of iron and knew the sides of her mouth were bleeding from the friction of the foreign material and her stubborn struggling.

Who did this? When would they come back? Her eyes blinked helplessly at the door on the far-side of the room as the desperate questions repeated themselves over and again in her mind. Beyond the rectangular door, she could see nothing but darkness. No sounds or motion greeted her ears and the feeling of dread and terror clenched sadistically at her gut.

How long had she been here?

"… Am I-…" her eyebrows drew together as she closed her eyes.

"Am I going…. to die…?" The thought brought a stiffening shock up the length of her spine and in her mind, the thoughts came, one after another, both fleeting and lingering - of her grandmother, her step-brother, faces she knew, bright sunshine, safety, her childhood, the swing-sets of the village park, glistening shop windows, laughing, tearful goodbyes, entering country after country… entering Konoha - Fragments of her life.

And just when she thought she'd found home.

Tears streaked down her cheeks and she slumped against the pull of the chains with a trembling choke that soon became resigned, quiet weeping. Her eyes squeezed shut tighter in frustration and fear and through her helplessness, only three distinct syllables repeated incessantly in her mind.

Even if Yume couldn't mouth the word properly, she said it into the silence anyway.

"Hatake…"

And for a brief moment... she felt comfort.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**GAHHHH!!! SASUKE-KUN'S Chidori-arm is dislocated! … Oh fk, I've dug myself a rut. (slumps to the floor)**

**I ultra-rushed the editing on this one, and I know it's REALLY disappointing because nothing much happened between our two favorite characters (-.-)" wah. But if you're following the story… (or if you wanna make me feel better about this –yet again- horrible disgrace of a chapter), you can say… there are lots of new developments crammed in.**

**If you still don't like it… well, uh … uh… It came out REAL quick, right? (0.0)" -sweatdrop-**

**Yeah, here's why:**

**I won't be updating in the next 2 weeks. Ah!!!! (Don't throw tomatoes! Please place them into the basket at the corner for Sasuke…)**

**Sasuke (near basket at the corner): Right here, bebeh… toss 'em!! -- OOC (- . -)**

**… I'm swamped with so many other things, I might not have time for Sasuke-kun anymore… NOOOOO!**

**Ahm, but yeah, sadly ffnet isn't enough to keep me alive if I wanna survive college thesis.**

**If you guys wanna just say hi, or leave a comment about the chapter, aright! Lets chat:D**

**If you don't feel this is deserving of a comment (laughs) … it's alright. I understand. :) Cheers to all!**


	28. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

**Author's Notes:**

**LOOOONGGG ... AGAIN! But i've spoken to some of you, and you seem to like long chapters so... its okay im guessing? Ahh... (-.-)" **

**We0w… Can't stay away from FFnet too long.** **I have these little eye-twitches and baby-seizures.****Ah, well… (points to self) this loser has no life, ne? Too bad. Hahaha. **

**So… I had fun with this chapter. Despite multi-tasking with the thesis and all. Gahh.. Treat Keska nice, okay? Make him feel loved and welcome him. **

**And I DO hope you enjoy our favorite couple - grins wide -. For now, that's all I can say. :D YOSHA! Reeaaad on!**

CHAPTER 28: DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

"What do you mean you don't have a fucking status report?" Keska hollered.

He propped one hand over the bars of his hospital bed, snatched the headset mic away from his throat and replaced it briefly with the oxygen mask, taking a breath - oh sweet, lungful of air. He was finding it rather addictive, even if the resident medical ninja had concluded that the injured captain no longer needed the supply.

The earpiece crackled with a reply.

"-Captain, if you really must know, the log-book simply reports: no development. We have no coordinates to the whereabouts of either Akatsuki member, and all three teams have not found anything remotely resembling a trail. Currently we are at stand-by."

"Fuck stand-by. I'm lying in a hospital bed with 25 stitches down my chest. I'm not dead, you ass-hat. And I gave you specific orders to KEEP SEARCHING, not to frolic around the forest enjoying the bounties of nature."

He was short of breath. He had to have it. With a scowl, he pressed the mask to his mouth again. The air came, and Keska thought he felt better.

"Then…" the voice at the end of the other line hesitated, "-then, we are to continue investigation?"

The ANBU captain's eyes widened in disbelief and he swung his legs off the bed, standing to a bristling explosion of tousled bed-head. "Am I tuning in to wrong reception? Holy mother of-! …What do you suppose keep-fucking-searching means!"

"Captain Keska-" a female voice from behind the ANBU commander called.

"Okay- I mean, Affirmative! Captain. Over." The voice on the head-set bit out.

"Yes! Yes Over." Keska gruffly drawled into the mic with a roll of his honey-brown eyes.

"Alright, now, you-" he turned around and pointed indolently at the blinking woman hovering near the doorway to his room. "Shizune-san-chan-sama. Yes?"

The girl with short black hair gave him a frown before she opened the door a full rectangle and stepped inside. "If you don't want those stitches opening up again, I suggest you restrain yourself from too much movement or vocal exertion…-"

"Lady-" Keska started in a surprisingly mild-mannered, but arrogant arch of eyebrows, "I've just discovered that my three ANBU troops – the supposed best of Konoha's stealth- are actually a group of retarded walking meats on legs, so please-" he pushed his hand wearily up his unshaven cheek and turned his back to her.

"-The hokage wishes to speak urgently with you." Shizune sighed, pressing against the doorway with a cross of her arms and a droll look on her face. "Oh-" she continued, and Keska raised his face to hers, "-pull on a pair of pants before you drop by the office."

Keska didn't bother covering the back of his drafty hospital gown before he reclined against the bed with an aggressive grin. "The opening of the robe is for the back, am I right? ...Shizune-…chan." he gave a lazy blink. "Or maybe it opens around the front…?"

The hokage's personal assistant stiffened as his implication hit. "…I should tighten your sutures-" Shizune snapped, "without anaesthesia."

Tossing out a flat smile, the medic pushed away from the door and disappeared.

Keska gave a discreet grin, slipping into black shinobi draw-string pants before padding off to see the godaime.

* * *

Sasuke woke up to the irritating glare of the morning rays prying into his eyelids and he shifted to raise his head, squinting into the room. Something was relentlessly pushing into his back and he turned around only to see Naruto's knee stretched out at a length that consumed three-fourths of the two-person futon they were sleeping on. Typical. 

For a moment, he contemplated kicking the blonde away. Sasuke knew enough from past missions to know that the boy was a heavy sleeper and it would take more than that to rouse him. But for some reason or another, he was feeling especially tolerant today.

With a stifled groan, Sasuke slid his good arm below him and raised himself off the floor, taking care to tuck his injured left into his chest.

With the recession of drowsiness, came the onset of a throbbing pain along his arm. He fought to push the feeling away as his eyes studied the unfamiliar rooftops outside the window.

"…How is it?"

The voice surprised him, and Sasuke turned his eyes to Sakura's sleepy eyelids as she raised her head from the mattress.

The team always let Sakura have the bed, regardless of the situation, if there was one, it would go to the kunoichi without argument. Of course, if anything, it was only trouble that there was the existence of an extra couch or mattress. Then there would be long minutes of argument – usually between Naruto and Kakashi – with Sasuke falling asleep to their insistent debates of who should sleep where.

"It's tolerable." Sasuke mumbled with a slight shift of shoulder. Judging from the slight cringe on his face as he sat up, the girl could tell he was in pain. But knowing Sasuke, it was just like him to speak lightly of it.

A sound from the other side of the bed distracted both genin, and they watched a burst of tousled gray hair dressed in dark blue shinobi apparel rise from the sleeping bag. "Fifty laps around the village, breakfast and then assessment of the forest area. Wake Naruto up." Kakashi mumbled without pause as he padded groggily into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Sasuke could hear the slight mumbles of the blonde as he stretched out even more into the vacant spaces of the futon, but his eyes were suddenly more focused on something else – flickering towards the motion of Sakura's pale hand just as the girl reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Turn around." The kunoichi said with a lazy smile, and the boy gave her an emotionless blink.

"Why."

"Just do it, Sasuke-kun."

"I won't, until you tell me why." He stiffly insisted, rubbing his right hand along his neck.

"… Relax," she laughed, "I'm just gonna try something daddy taught me. He uses it on his patients at the hospital and it supposedly works wonders."

He gave her a brief once-over before wordlessly turning around. Below him, Naruto continued with audible grunts, oblivious to everything coupled with the new morning. As always, he was the last to get up. And over the months, a routine had settled as to who would whack him over the head, or flip him out of the futon to wake him. Sasuke's gaze wandered until it settled over the blonde's familiar night-cap – the one fashioned after a goofy-looking beaver that the boy ridiculously refused to part with. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was dangling over one of the boy's toes. How it got there, Sasuke didn't bother thinking about it. Naruto was just a messy sleeper.

A sudden firm squeeze to both his shoulders caused the raven-haired boy to pull up sharply.

"This IS supposed to make me feel better?" the Uchiha muttered in question between barely parted lips.

"Be patient." Sakura teased from behind him. And her fingers squeezed with emphasis.

"…I'm not." The boy pointed out, irritatedly.

"And that's precisely your problem."

For the first time, Sasuke didn't have a sharp retort. And he silently accepted the kneads of her hands along his back, surprised at her tough and unrelenting grip, until the motions settled into waves of calming bliss.

"See? Feels nice, doesn't it?" the kunoichi murmured. The tone of her voice found its way quite easily into Sasuke's uptight posture, causing him to soften unexpectedly against the edge of the bed.

"Hn." Sasuke managed the breathy effortless response. And he had just begun to close his eyes when the press of her mouth to the side of his neck forced them open again.

The warmth of a sigh stirred a delicious prickle from his skin. And Sasuke stayed quite still even if he felt his breath wedge and falter.

The motions of her hands stopped, and he'd only begun to notice when the pink-haired kunoichi suddenly snuggled her nose into his soft, black locks.

"You smell… good." She blissfully sighed.

He was quiet as her voice softly drifted along the spaces between them.

"Like… rain and night-fall, mildew on fresh grass …-"

"Sakura…" he slowly interrupted with a side-ways turn of his head, "Its just laundry soap."

The girl's eyes moved carefully over his profile and then her lips drew up in a smile.

"It's laundry soap… on you." And she took the opportunity press a kiss at the boy's earlobe. Sasuke shut one eye with a mental groan.

"More… Massage…"

The girl laughed at the startling airiness of his voice and she resumed with the forceful grip.

With a satisfied curl of his lip, Sasuke settled back and closed his eyes. It did feel wonderful. The tension leaving his body, her close-by warmth, the grip of-

"Why did you stop…?" the boy almost demanded when her hands lowered. Opening his eyes, he found himself looking at another face in front of him. A dazed cobalt squint scrutinized Sasuke and he remained motionless from the abrupt sight as he watched Naruto's blue eyes flit sleepily a little way above his head towards Sakura.

"Did I miss something?" the blonde mumbled, with a scratch of a hand to his messy blonde head.

Before Sasuke knew what he was doing, he'd plucked a pillow off the bed and tossed it hard at Naruto's face. It made a dull thumping sound as it bounced off the boy's whiskered-cheeks.

"Close, idiot, you were just about to miss a morning. Wake up." The raven-haired boy mumbled, wordlessly breaking away from Sakura's outstretched hands and pushing himself off the floor.

And just when he was beginning to enjoy some part of the day… -

The pillow flew up just as quickly, whacking the Uchiha limply across the back, "Yeah good morning to you too." Came Naruto's indignant growl as he rubbed at the tender bandaged bruise on his head.

* * *

"And where are the other more responsible and less incapable ANBU captains, Tsunade-?" 

The hokage lifted one barely tolerant eyebrow, and Keska licked his lip before giving her a wide grin. "-Sama." He added with emphasis, crossing one leg over another as he slouched into his seat.

"Rukio, Toussen and Leila are busy with other matters concerning assassination and spy missions. All of them have been contacted, and none of them show signs of availability. You-" Tsunade leaned forward in her grand, leather chair with a squeak, "-are the only option as of now, Keska."

"Okay, done." The captain slapped a hand across the table, before rising. "And you say, there is a trail?"

"Jounins – who also happen to be candidates for your next ANBU team – seem to think so."

The godaime provided with a lace of her fingers to her chin. Her golden eyes stared solidly up to his. "Look into it, please. I've given you all the information you need."

"Affirmed." Keska insisted, bending with a slight bow and taking his vest from the back of the chair.

Shizune was there before he could step into the hallway. And as the ANBU commander gave her a once-over, she grinned almost sadistically and something in her black eyes glimmered.

"Before you check-out,… _Captain_, …I'll have to tighten those stitches to make sure you don't go around bleeding and confusing your men."

The captain blinked at her for a moment before he gave a slack, almost comical smile.

"How sweet. You never seem to forget our little appointments, Shizune-..chan."

"Wouldn't dream of it." The medic flatly drawled before stalking off into the operating room two doors away, leaving the arrogant captain to stuffing his hands into his drawstring pants pockets and following her.

* * *

Itachi slipped into the smooth, upholstered couch at the farthest booth near the end of the dark restaurant. This morning, he didn't bother wearing his robe. The light black short-sleeved top he wore inside it, coupled with black ninja pants seemed more appropriate for the plan. His companion Kisame – still dawning his own tedious black Akatsuki robe and indelibly large sword – slipped into the seat in front of him, gesturing his head sideways with an exaggeratedly large grin. 

"Well Itachi-san. What do you think?" the shark drawled after a pause.

The older Uchiha closed his eyes as a waitress came over with a notepad pinned to her red order-taker dress.

"Sake…" Itachi murmured before the girl could open her mouth to ask for his order.

"Beer." Kisame stated, folding his arms into his robe and giving his partner an unwavering stare.

Neither of the missing-nins took the time to look up at their server – who after a slight silence – haughtily tossed her pony-tail and swaggered away.

The sharingan-user looked across the dank restaurant emotionlessly, spotting their target sitting at the bar with her slender legs effortlessly crossed. What the girl was doing in a bar so early in the morning, he had no inclination whatsoever to find out.

With a slight swivel of her stool, she let out a feisty laugh and struck her hand out to lightly shove the bartender's shoulder - who responded with a chuckle as he rinsed the glasses along the counter.

Apparently he'd tossed her a comical remark of some sort.

Itachi watched the girl's lips loosen into a beautiful tragic pout. The structure of her face, the angles of her jaw told of sophistication, and the curves of her body called out in subtle sensuality. But even that still wasn't enough. In her baby-blue eyes lay the attractive possibility of this Akatsuki mission's success.

Those eyes…

They glimmered surprisingly with the innocence of a child, radiated warmth at the traces of her smile.

Noone harboring a heart would ever think of hurting her.

Yes.

"Perfect." Itachi said, barely blinking as the waitress came over with his porcelain Sake bottle and cup.

A moment later, Kisame's large blue-skinned hands slipped snugly around the handle of his heavy beer mug and he raised his own glass to his mouth before speaking. "And- …She lives just a floor below where the Kyuubi vessel is booked."

Itachi looked at him as he lowered his sake cup, "You made sure she lives with noone."

"Of course." The shark shot back with a flash of sharp, pirannah teeth.

"Then I shall fulfill my part of the requirements-" Itachi said in a soft voice, his long eyelashes flicking up to look at the blonde again, before distractedly taking the sake bottle and emptying the last of its contents into the cup. "-After I finish this drink."

The fish lowered his eyes to the shimmering brim of liquid, "The other girl… Itachi. She's become dehydrated and weak."

There was a surprising flash in Itachi's irises that might have been a brief flicker of red. But the shark-ninja couldn't be certain. And he said nothing as the sharingan-user emptied his cup.

"All the more she is not worthy to carry the name, 'Uchiha.'" Itachi muttered with frozen transfixed eyes. "The sooner she is dead the better. … I've only been trying to find her for so long to do just that."

"Ho…" the shark gave a gruff laugh and his icy eyes widened with amusement, "-but dead bait isn't as enticing as one that is alive-" " -If that is so-" Itachi cut in as he closed his eyes and moved to stand, "then Hatake Kakashi and that useless woman can die… together. The point is that I will not allow such a pathetic disgrace of my bloodline to survive."

With that, the older Uchiha slipped out of the booth and made his way towards the bar without looking back.

Kisame lowered his head and muttered, "cold-blooded," before he drank the rest of his beer and rose to go his separate way.

---()

"So what did you do?"

"After he did what he did? I threw fermented nato beans up his nose and slapped him." The blonde girl indignantly pushed back on her stool. "That's what I do to all guys who fall under that category. Assholes-"

"-I'm taking a risk then." Came a softer, fluid voice from behind.

The bartender looked up from polishing his mug and the blonde girl whipped sideways just in time to see a dark-haired man slip into the seat next to her.

Before she could think of a cordial way to say she wasn't interested in him or his advances, the man raised his head and she found herself staring into beautiful twin orbs of solid black, framed delicately with thick, generous eyelashes.

The marred grooves under his eyes, ironically added to the rugged, distinct charm.

And together with the slightness of his parted lips, the young man's features came together in a combination of alluring sensuality.

Put frankly, she hadn't seen anyone this handsome in a long time.

As if the man read her thoughts, he gave the barest hints of a silent smile.

"…Are you from around?" he asked.

She found herself staring slack at him, before she caught herself in time and nodded.

"Ah, I- Yes."

"I see."

She didn't fail to notice the deep, sweeping tone of his voice.

"…I apologize for the rudeness…" Itachi said with a graceful parting of lips. His eyelashes lifted and he observed her. "Entering your personal conversation the way I did."

"It's… alright." The blonde found herself saying and the bartender eyed her with a comical smile, before shaking his head and disappearing into the back kitchen. "I make new friends this way, really."

"Really." Itachi repeated softly and he coupled the word with a slow blink.

"-And I thought I'd be leaving disappointed."

She could do nothing but stare. Was the man flirting with her? His charm seemed to come so naturally it was hard to tell. This feeling she had, she'd long forgotten it. And for some reason or another, she smiled as she realized what it was - the same nervousness and excitement that came with the stirrings of a highschool crush.

"Uchiha Itachi." His voice broke in and the girl looked at him as he gave an odd smile that showed no amusement, only a calm confidence.

He slowly slipped a hand out across the counter and his eyes seemed to call out to her.

So much so, the blonde found herself leaning just a bit closer.

"Kayako Tohru." She whispered, gently slipping her hand in his outstretched one.

"Perfect."

The older Uchiha murmured, eyes never leaving her face.

* * *

_Almost. Almost._

Naruto's eyes crinkled and he pulled in a lungful of air before he grinned when he saw the line drawn into the dirt a few meters in front of him.

"Hah! Yatta-yatta!" He jogged faster, took one leap, slammed one blue-sandaled foot down over the line and kept running. "45!" he roared shooting a fist up – "Dattebayo!"

Ten meters behind, Sasuke rolled his eyes. He moved at his own pace, never speeding up and never slowing down. Sakura's method was systematic like his own. Their feet striking ground in sync.

"I thought-" the girl beside him breathlessly spoke, swallowing before continuing "-I thought we were at the 47th lap!"

Sasuke lowered his head and tried to hide a smirk. After a moment, he looked ahead at the overly-enthusiastic blonde. "We are."

The girl blew a lock of hair from her flushed cheek as her eyebrows drew together. "Sasuke-kun… we should tell Naru-"

"-OI!!! OJI-SAN!!! OHAYO!!!" The fox-ninja's loud holler from meters in front interrupted and both genin looked up to see the orange-clad ninja waving excessively at an old man near the side of the road.

The man's small, bony frame paused from his struggle to unload a large weight from his wooden cart. And the blonde ninja – seeing this - pushed one foot out, trying to slow to a stop.

He stumbled for a split second, caught his balance, recovered and slid sideways over to the surprised villager.

"Nah, nah-" Naruto slurred with slits for eyes as he peered at the man. "Need help with that?-"

"What's he doing?" Sakura huffed. The boy beside her said nothing. Instead from the steadily closing distance, he studied the old man as he smiled and gestured sideways towards a patch of ground across the road that was obstructed from view by the side-lining trees. Sasuke didn't recall seeing anything special there when they'd ran along the spot the past few times.

He saw the hyperactive blonde ninja give a brief nod before he started off towards the back of the wagon.

---()

"Nnnyahhaaa!"

Naruto pulled back with wide-eyes and clenched his teeth as the sight of two creatures greeted him from inside the darkness of the old man's large wagon.

"Ah-Eto, O-oji-san… what the hell are those things?"

"What else!" the senior villager cried with a trembling chin, and he gave Naruto a few nudges of his hand as he approached. "Well c'mon? Help me out, boy."

Naruto swallowed for a moment as he looked up into the rectangular opening, and then his eyebrows slowly drew together and the cobalts in his eyes hardened as he pushed out a determined grin. "…Yosh." The blonde snarled.

Sasuke and Sakura both slowed to a stop as they approached the wagon.

"Here." The raven-haired boy gestured as he walked along the side of the lengthy cart and the girl followed close behind him.

There was a grunt and then Naruto's shrill holler.

A loud squeal followed by the old man's hoarse shout.

Sakura almost screamed when the cart gave a violent jerk and suddenly two large pot-bellied pigs, the size of ponies came scrambling towards her.

"Oh my god! Sasuke-kun!!!" the girl unthinkingly cried out, pulling her hands to herself and huddling against the side of the cart as the two pigs wobbled past, tugging a tripping-stumbling and hollering Naruto between them.

"Ahhh- O-O-Oi! … Slow down!!!" The fox-ninja screeched, grabbing at the ropes tied around the two pigs, digging his sandals into the dirt as he pulled. His foot caught on a pebble and Naruto fell forward, face-first into the road.

"Matake.." The raven-haired boy cursed as the blonde started hollering into the ground, clutching at his still-bruised forehead from the accident the night before.

With a sigh Sasuke pushed away and followed the frantic struggle over to the other side of the road.

Sakura blinked and peered towards their direction, spotting a small shack of a barnyard with a wooden enclosure to the side, and a lone horse lazily kicking at the fences.

"Young lady…"

The pink-haired kunoichi turned towards the old man behind her as he approached, throwing one calloused hand around his stiff neck.

"Would you and your boy-friend do this old man a favor? - Bring the pigs over to the muddy pool at the back of the stable?"

_Boyfriend._

Sakura's smile emerged wider than she expected and she gave him a slight bow, "Sure, oji-san."

---()

"No."

"But Sasuke-kun…"

"Sakura. We're not getting paid, we don't have to do this."

The boy shoved his good hand into his pocket and closed his eyes with an aggravated tilt of his head.

The girl was silent for a moment, and when she saw that Sasuke didn't bother adding anything else or moving from his spot under the tree, she sighed.

Naruto was busy trying to feed the fire beside the barn with the old man. She could wait for him-

A grunt from one of the pigs startled her, and she looked sideways eye-level with the large sow as it sniffed at her. "Okay…" Sakura cautiously spoke to it, a bit fearfully when she suddenly recalled her encounter in the forest. The kunoichi gave Sasuke a hurt look, which he failed to see – because his lids remained closed.

She played with the rope and wound it around her wrists before a part of her finally spoke.

…_You can't always be useless and you can't always depend on others. This is simple, so just do it. _

At the urge of her thoughts, she took a breath, set her jaws and determinedly walked forward. She gave the ropes a tug and the animals followed.

Sasuke stood quite stubbornly - rooted on the spot with his eyebrows arched. He was only slightly surprised she'd grown quiet and then suddenly walked off.

He allowed a moment of silence to pass.

And then he slid one eye open carefully, watching the kunoichi as she wandered behind the stable.

In front of her, she could see the mud pool. Large and rather deep.

And Sakura knew it was trouble.

When the pig beside her tossed its head with an excited grunt, her stomach knotted in dread.

And then its companion responded with an even louder gurgle.

She didn't have time to react when a sharp tug came over the rope, coiled around her wrist, sending her forward.

"Ah!!!" The pigs leapt, dragging Sakura with them - skidding towards their destination.

She frantically untangled the cord and debated for a moment what to do until she finally decided to let go, a second too late, because one foot had started to slip out over the edge of the pen.

The pigs waddled gleefully into the cool muck and with a dangerous teeter that tore a gasp from her, she felt an arm grab at her dress, and the motion of it pulled her back - to her relief - successfully.

"… Clumsy usuratonkachi." Sasuke's fluid mutter came from behind. Sakura was more than glad to hear him.

The girl turned around with a flustered smile and steadily reddening cheeks. And the boy blinked back at her with hard eyes… -Until the forgotten rope that had slipped under her was pulled backwards by a culprit pig.

Her foot followed.

Sakura slipped backwards with a shriek and Sasuke hadn't even opened his mouth, or replanted his footing. He only barely remembered one arm still wrapped around her when the girl's weight suddenly pulled him forward, stumbling knee-deep into layers and layers of wet, sticky dirt and bubbling brown that seeped into his clothes and sucked at his legs.

… No, he was not amused.

"Sakura!!!" The Uchiha roared as he struggled to get back his balance despite the uneven, sinking ground. And he pushed his half-soaked face up from the mud giving her a menacing glare when he saw the mud clinging from his own strands and dribbling down his collar. The Uchiha was a mess, with his right cheek sloshed in brown, spatters of it streaked across his blue shirt and most of his shorts stained. He moved his bandaged legs and couldn't help the disgusted look on his face when he felt the muckiness between his sandals. What ever it was that the animals left mingling with the mud – he didn't need to think about. Sasuke was only glad that the pool didn't smell like anything else but earth.

Sakura had fallen shrieking, and now the high-pitched screech had tapered down into gasps and moans as she flailed.

"Ahhh-ohh noooo Sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry." The kunoichi sobbed, though her eyes flew open rather quickly and she stiffened. "Oh my god! What was that? Is there something alive in the mud? – Oh, god. How did-… No… My dress…" The girl moaned again.

And as if she remembered the boy silently standing beside her, she bit her lip and cringed, almost in pain when she gave him a hesitant look.

The tip of her nose was dipped in mud and a large disgraceful chunk of it rolled down the side of one squinted eye.

The kunoichi's dress was now a half-and-half combination of caked earth and crimson cloth.

To have to walk back, looking like this… Sakura almost pushed a hand to her face with mortification.

But for a moment, the girl forgot about herself, when she saw the raven-haired boy, staring back mutely.

Sasuke pulled himself up with an odd look on his face.

The girl in front of him looked flatly graceless. And it occurred to the boy, that she would never have wanted him to see her looking the way she did now.

_Never in a million years._ He unconsciously imagined the girl telling anyone who would listen.

With the soaked, muddy pink locks and the speckle-spotted cheeks…

For no apparent reason, his mind fed him the teasing tone of voice…

_Sasuke-kunnn…_

Just the sight of her now, coupled with the sudden image of her saying the honorific and batting her eyelashes at him… It was funny - And where had the thought come from?

Sasuke couldn't help it.

He abruptly pushed his mouth down against his muddy collar, trying to cut down the threatening sounds.

But the girl heard it. A low bubble of monotone, wondering for a moment where it came from, until she saw Sasuke's shoulders were shaking.

And then his eyes flew shut with dark eyelashes pressed dangerously close to smudges of brown on his cheek. The sound came again and Sakura blinked when she bent her head at him and saw the wide, irresistible smile of his lips, barely concealed.

Sasuke-kun…

She watched amazed as the boy lowered his quaking head, trying to stifle another bout of sounds.

"You're…" Sakura started… "You're laughing…" she finished numbly.

…Leaning into the mud, with locks of messy dark hair strewn around, chunks of mud clinging to the raven tips – and his smile, spreading out into a grin as he gave his first low round of adorable laughter.

Her eyes softened and Sasuke's onyx gaze moved up to look at her. She forgot all about the mud soaking itchilly into her hair, about how the damp soil had seeped into her dress, into her green shorts…

She looked at him and saw something she never had before.

Heard something she never thought she would hear.

Just as quickly as she had pointed it out, the boy seemed to realize it. The sounds died, and his eyes settled into casual seriousness, bringing the familiarity of him back.

He looked down with a slight twist of mouth, suddenly interested in the way his lower torso was soaked into squishy wetness.

"…That's the second time we got in trouble because of a hog." He stoically pointed out after a brief moment of eyeing the brown pool.

His injured hand was the first thing he'd reflexively pulled out of the way as he fell into the pit and now the boy lifted the bandages to scrutinize, and saw the pale skin of his fingers – saved from disgrace.

Without thinking – he slipped his hand across the distance and brushed it over her nose, clearing away bits of caked mud as she silently stared at him.

"Why do I even bother spending time with you…" He muttered. "It's just bound to bring problems."

The girl smiled.

"Maybe, you like problems." She said, and her smile blossomed, "Or maybe you just like me-"

"-Not, if you keep acting stupid." He ground out with a lifted chin - somehow managing to look dignified despite the splatters across his cheek and hair.

"Youlike me." the girl emphasized teasingly. And then she laughed, pushing a muddy finger at his one clean cheek, tracing brown dirt down it. His eyes widened and just as quickly he glowered.

"Maybe…" she whispered, "you love me… ne, Sasuke-kun?"

Her voice died out when she noticed the tensai's expression.

The poised arrogance was slipping away into muteness and after a moment, he turned away.

"Do you want me to just say…" the boy quietly said, "-you're right?"

"…Am I?" Sakura attempted again with hopeful eyes.

She heard the sweet octaves of his voice, "Sakura…"

And then his hand came up and chunky wetness had slapped into the side of her face. Her eyes flew wide open as the boy in front of her gave a smirk that was bordering dangerously on a grin.

"You're annoying…" he dragged out casually.

And when he saw the softening look in her emerald eyes, he didn't think of repressing an even higher lift of his mouth in response.

She didn't know what made her do it.

Of all the other places they could have been. Of any other time but now…

But the girl slowly came forward, hand reaching out to his mud-soaked strands. And with the pigs frolicking but a few meters away, Sakura gently pulled his soaked locks forward and kissed him.

The softness of her lingering mouth triggered the shock that leapt around his stomach.

And he brought an arm around her head, pushing her lips closer.

Of all the other places they could have been. Of any other time but now…

One of his knees drew up reflexively – though he didn't notice - and her body found its way comfortably between his legs.

"Naruto…" He suddenly breathed with lowered lids. Only half conscious of what the word meant.

Her tongue traced across his outer lip and the boy gave up with a groan. "…Nevermind, Naruto."

Sakura laughed against him, and laced her arms around his shoulders, before she leaned in with a grin.

"I miss you…" the girl said. And Sasuke watched her green eyes soften. "Sasuke-kun… I miss this."

His response to her honesty was a slight tremble that made it harder for him to balance.

Why?

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly and she came forward to kiss him. His mouth opened to the warmth.

Why exactly?

His head tilted and he found himself responding more, kissing deeper, feeling the curl of her fingers against his jaw - the heat and her uneven breath as she pushed up against him.

Why was it, he could never pull away?

Buried with his legs deep in mud, two grunting pigs for background companions, messy, grimy and sweaty, and… he couldn't.

"…god, Sakura..."

Perhaps from being upset with himself

Or from the shy nudge of her tongue on his lip.

A desperation laced his tone when he said her name.

She ground into him and he pulled up against the pit's edge with a breath. His body stiffening as the gap between them closed.

"Oh, no," Sasuke vaguely heard the twinge of concern in her voice.

"-Did I crush it? Does it hurt?" she pulled away, looking down now at his left arm tucked between their bodies.

The girl gasped when Sasuke yanked her forward - deliberately using his injured arm.

"…Learn to read me right-" His onyx eyes narrowed.

"-… when you crush me like that, I like it." The boy whispered with a fierce smirk.

And then one leg shot up against her side and he pressed her against the pit's edge with an arm, shifting until she was the one cornered into the pool's side and he was the one in control.

"Sasuke-kun," The girl's voice trailed off.

And then the words left her lips.

"…I love you."

It was the second time she'd told him.

He lifted his gaze to her, and it was almost unnerving, the way her green eyes were focused searchingly on his.

"… Every single time we'd been together, Sasuke-kun… I wished you would say that."

Sasuke knew.

But he kept his face blank. And the boy said nothing.

"… I-…" she faltered in hesitation, her mint-green eyes shifted and then she gave a sigh. "… Nevermind."

Sakura lowered her head, without a trace of a smile, without a touch of anything else but longing.

"…Let's go."

The kunoichi made to move, but the boy suddenly leaned into her, physically denying her the motion.

She pressed back into the wall.

"You should know." He abruptly said.

"…What…?"

"You should already know by now, how I feel about you."

The girl stared at him, green eyes glazing with confusion.

"…I… should already know?" Sakura asked, torn. "But I _don't_ know, Sasuke-kun …"

"I… I need you to tell me-!" she blurted out.

"I don't have to tell you…" Sasuke whispered.

And immediately after he'd spoken, his hips came forward.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The kunoichi gasped when the boy purposely slid himself against her - the heated bump much too accurately burying where it was meant to. The discovery of it caused Sakura's breath to tumble out with small random sounds.

"I don't have to tell you…" he evenly repeated.

"…You're not dense, Sakura. You already know how I feel."

The girl's heart was pounding, frantic against her chest, and for a moment she didn't want to speak, fearing that her voice wouldn't come.

"…Words don't always matter. And commitments don't mean anything when you don't act on them."

He caved with a breath. Closing his eyes and pressing his head into her neck.

"I… think about you… too much. I care when I don't have to care. It doesn't make sense. Even things I used to understand don't make sense anymore. You confuse me, and I hate it. But why…- am I still here with you, Sakura… -You should know why."

She was silent for a moment. But she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"…Will you… say it when you're ready?"

_Stubborn. _

The boy lowered his head and pressed a discreet smile into her neck.

Just like always – she read him, saw through him, knew him.

And that was exactly why he liked her.

His arms lowered, and after a moment he slipped them around the kunoichi and drew her close in a hug.

"… usuratonkachi." He mumbled into her damp, muddy hair.

The girl pulled away and looked up at him. And then with sudden tiredness, she slumped.

"I don't know why you always have to call me that, Sasuke-kun."

"… Because you are one." His stoical tone was back and she couldn't have guessed that he would recover with a smirk.

"And you never seem to disagree with me…"

Sasuke's voice trailed off -

Because under the layers of mud, his knee was now sliding between her legs, pushing one thigh sideways against the moist wall.

She abruptly tried to give him an offended look, and he pressed closer.

"Can you even say "no" to me, Sakura?"

"Of course… I can…" the girl managed to say, forcing down an odd thrill of response when the curve of Sasuke's knee traced at the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. Her body sunk against him with a tremble and Sasuke's mouth curled knowingly.

"Liar…" The boy whispered and he pushed his pelvis forward with rough emphasis.

The single word she readied herself to say faded off with a wedge of breath, until she was left with a quiet murmur. "……n…n-o."

"That's not convincing at all."

He was enjoying this, grinding into her and feeling her body weaken against his advances despite the circumstances.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into slits of pleasure. He slid himself back and brought himself up against her. Hard.

The girl uttered a sound of surprise. And Sasuke tightened in the newfound thrill. Their bodies together. Joined somehow and yet separated by layers and layers of aggravation.

And because he couldn't resist, Sasuke did it again, pushing forward, hearing the hike of her breath and the dull slosh of the muddy water. The upward motion brought her body higher up against the incline and he lifted his eyes to her face.

This time… he didn't bother to stop the heated thoughts.

And soon Sasuke found himself thinking about it…

Imagining…

What it would finally be like with her…

At the sight of her dazed, green irises looking heatedly at him, something close to a muted purr slipped from the boy's throat and he braced himself against the wall, considering her with a restraint that was almost agonizing. His onyx eyes wavered over her flushed cheeks.

"It's not fair…-" Sakura finally found her voice though it sounded strangely breathy. "-Sasuke-kun… How do you expect me to say no… At a time like this when-"

"-when it feels this good…?" Sasuke gave her a whispy smirk. "…You should say yes."

She swallowed, struggling to take in the new experience, knowing from past curiosity… Just instinctively knowing…

"What you're doing… This is-"

_Was it? Was this it? _

"…what I want-" the boy breathlessly cut in and his eyebrows drew together, "…only with you."

The girl looked up into his obsidian stare. And then she was sure she knew…

What he was trying to tell her.

**Author's Notes:**

**--crawls away from the computer before the seat and monitor melts—**

**NOOOOO why'd I have to end it here!!! Mwahahaha!!! Sadistic me... (-.-)"**

**Anyways… I'm kinda-sorta back from my official Thesis-making… thank you for waiting this long… And I'm happy with reviews! … I love you guys so much. :) Do you guys love me back? -sniffles-**

**This chapter… mahhh what can I say… I wrote about 5 DIFFERENT VERSIONS of little bits. Because I couldn't make up my mind. I didn't know what to do… did I want to just cram all the events, stretch it out nice and slow I DIDN'T KNOW!!! -dies- **

**But the last bits…-grin- I kept taking breaks to walk around fanning myself. I don't really know why I work myself up over these freaky-deaky-lem0n things. Over-heating is not good for braincells… they scream in pain as they burn.**

**I'm not sure if i did too good with THIS lemon... (sorry- lack of lemon. eheh heh)**

**Comment. (Should I say please?) :D Thank you guys. **


	29. RIGHT AND WRONG

**Author's Notes:**

**First of all, I want to apologize. –weeps- I've been away too long haven't I… -continues weeping-**

**Second of all, I want to say that I worked really, really hard on this chapter. And that I hope you like sour to the sourest. **

**Now… Ready, set… read on. :D**

CHAPTER 29

Kakashi was listlessly flipping through the menu of the restaurant, only barely listening to the distorted music coming from the twin speakers above his head when the familiar chakra of his three students made him look up from his breakfast contemplation.

As usual, Naruto called the attention.

"Kakai-senseeeii!!" the blonde hollered as he waved from the entrance, and people turned to stare as the blonde bounded into the restaurant, followed by his two teammates.

Kakashi's eye jerked in mild surprise at the mud-splattered appearance of his young prodigy and the pink-haired kunoichi beside him.

"Ahh yare-yare…" he mumbled with a shake of his head as he tucked the pocket book into his vest.

What sort of trouble could one morning jog invite anyway?

Naruto had a broad grin on his face as he came up to Kakashi and plopped down into the seat in front of him. The genin gave a bite of feisty laughter and stuck a thumb out at the raven-haired boy as Sasuke side-stepped a curious waitress. "Anou-sa…" he rolled his cerulean eyes and stuck a sneer out, "Temme here fell into a pig-pen and if that wasn't enough, he had to get Sakura dirty too!"

The girl had her head lowered in flustered embarrassment, but she abruptly jerked up in immediate defense to Sasuke, her green eyes wide.

"No… It was my fault Kakai-sensei! I lost my footing and accidentally pulled him in…" The pink-haired girl shot the blonde a mild glare. "Naruto no baka!"

The jounin calmly folded up the menu and the blonde hastily snatched it from him. "Yatta! Yatta!" the genin grinned, spreading the page of food selections.

Kakashi sighed and rested a gloved hand over his chin as he looked his two muddy students over.

"Mah. Well-"

"I'm sorry, sir?"

All four of them looked up at a waitress hovering over their table, and she gave an apologetic smile and bow. "I'm sorry, but we've just gotten complaints from another table about…"

Her voice trailed off and she slowly turned to Sasuke and Sakura just as caked mud fell over the floor.

"Yes, of course." Kakashi interrupted with an embarassed crinkly eye and bow, "My two students will be leaving immediately."

Sasuke rubbed a hand across one cheek and gave the girl beside him a sideways look.

And then the jounin's voice came. "Clean yourselves up and come join us for breakfast afterwards. We'll wait." "Okay." - "Alright."

The rushed answers came at about the same time from the two genin, and Sakura turned to Sasuke with an awry, flustered look.

Was he…

Just as eager as she was to be alone together?

She could no longer tell.

Because the raven-haired boy had already closed his eyes and turned around, walking towards the restaurant's entrance with his hands tucked systematically into his pockets.

-

The girl at the counter blinked up at the tall, blue-skinned ninja in front of her dressed in loose black. Beside his towering form, a smaller man appeared with a blonde girl the inn-keeper recognized as a guest staying in one of the rooms. She was clinging to the crook of the smaller man's arm.

Itachi pulled the straw hat on his head lower over his down-turned face, and the inn-keeper finally spoke. "May I help you?" Her eyes travelled to the taller man and caught the large barrel strapped to his shoulder.

"That's a large keg, you have." She lightly cajoled in mild conversation.

"Yes…" The shark-nin gave her a toothy grin that appeared almost intimidating. He shrugged the wooden barrel higher over his back.

"Because… It's Takeuchi-chan's birthday today." He spoke in a low gravelly voice as he looked over the top of the smaller man's hat.

"I'm going to have a party." The blonde finally spoke with a mechanical lift of a smile. And her blue eyes slowly blinked at the inn-keeper's face in a strangely empty way.

"Ah…" the woman behind the counter slowly nodded, and just to add more she threw in an awkward laugh. But the blonde girl's face remained frozen in that flat smile.

"Well happy birthday!" the woman tried enthusiastically to declare, pulling out the guest book from the counter's first drawer. "But I'll have to ask the two guests to sign their names here."

Itachi silently held his hand out as the inn-keeper gave him the ink-brush and Kisame reached sideways to pull the blonde girl closer to him.

* * *

"Ah, that was just embarrassing!" 

Sakura pushed a palm up her face as she walked into the inn's large, broad entrance.

The boy beside her felt he had nothing more to add and he looked up at the lobby lanterns, listening to the wooden floorboards creak underneath their steps. While they walked, his hand was busy groping around one shorts pocket for the room keys.

After a moment, the girl heard him utter a silent curse.

"…My key is missing. It must have fallen into the pit." Sasuke flatly said, and his onyx eyes looked her over. "Where are yours?"

"I… left it in the room because I don't have pockets…" the girl answered with a cringe.

With a snatch of pink hair, she looked over to the counter, green eyes scanning the area waiting to catch a glimpse of the familiar inn-keeper.

After a moment, she gave up and stood on her toes trying to peer past the tall man shadowing the front of the table. But aside from his broad form, there was also the large barrel on his back that was obstructing her vision.

She lowered with a frown. "Sasuke-kun… Let's go there. We can ask for the spare key."

* * *

All the Akatsuki members had fake names - exactly for situations like the current one. 

Unthinkingly, Itachi wrote his into the small column of the guest book - his old ANBU alias. '_Hatori Mizo'. _

It wasn't such an uncommon name.

He was just starting on the first Kanji character when a familiar voice came over the silence.

"Ohayo."

My. How surprising.

Itachi's eyes flickered under his straw hat at the nostalgic tone, at the memories. He might have even felt a slight bite of a thrill, what with them standing barely a meter apart.

_Sasuke. _

The older Uchiha quietly lowered his head and checked his masked chakra.

"Can I have the spare keys to room 213?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw the tall, oddly blue-skinned man who was standing beside him turn his head in a slow sideways glance. The genin could have seen the sudden curious grin that swept across the shark-face.

Instead he ignored the man altogether.

"And,…" Sakura turned to the inn-keeper as she shuffled around, "How much is it to pay for a lost set of keys?"

"Forget it. I'll worry about that." The boy hurriedly said as the woman held out the spare to him and he took it.

"Oh..." The girl gave a teasing smile, and she stuck her tongue out playfully. "Sasuke-kun? …Are you always this moody when you're hungry?"

"Yes." The raven-haired boy answered simply, closing his eyes. "I am."

Under the shadow of his hat, Itachi's mouth softened fondly.

So…

In all the years, that part of his brother still hadn't changed.

Never late at the dinner table and the first one in the morning to grab the bento lunch from the kitchen counter.

"Oh well…" Itachi heard the girl sigh, interrupting his thoughts.

Her green-flecked eyes warmed as she bent to catch Sasuke's lowered gaze and she gave a soft smile. "You're adorable when you're angry anyway, Sasuke-kun."

The boy tilted his gray-tinged eyes to her, and to the girl's partial joy, stitched his eyebrows together with an annoyed frown.

"If it's alright with the two of you," the inn-keeper suddenly said, "I've sent the local house-keeper to your room to clean the place... She'll be arriving at your door anytime."

"Sure." Sasuke answered shortly. He pushed away from the table and slipped the keys into his pocket. "Let's go."

The girl's smile widened delightedly, and she swung around with a small hum.

Itachi's eyes almost seethed crimson - until he caught a glimpse of Sasuke's brown-splattered white shorts from just beyond the brim of his hat.

_Dirt? No._

_Mud._

He blinked in slow interest. But just as quickly Sakura had thrown an arm around the crook of his younger brother and the Akatsuki member's menacing flare of anger rushed back with full force.

_Exactly who was this girl?_

His eyes narrowed.

How very disappointing. She was undeserving of him. To have someone as insignificant as her lingering around his Sasuke, it was simply pathetic.

And how weak it would make his little one. All he'd been planning - the anger and pain that was essential to Sasuke gaining the right level of power and skill – all of it would go to waste.

Just because of this…

A petty crush. A useless thing.

Too easily, the brush in his hand snapped, and his eyelashes lowered to the split bamboo still in his clenched fist.

_Hm._

"Oh my… I'm sorry…" the inn-keeper's forehead wrinkled as she turned from the two departing genin and saw the broken brush.

"It was an old pen… and… - ah yes," she rummaged quickly around the drawer and came up with a much thicker brush for the Akatsuki member.

"Here's another one."

Upon seeing the large-handled brush being held out, Kisame erupted in a sudden bout of gravelly laughter -something the handsome man was quite used to and had early on learned to ignore whenever he deemed it needed.

At the moment, he was in no mood to hear it.

The shark grinned knowingly and threw a rough, heavy arm around the blonde girl's shoulders.

"A little romp in the mud." He discreetly rumbled.

She only continued to stare straight ahead into the wall with the same painted-on smile. Not blinking, even once.

* * *

After the pink-haired kunoichi entered their rented quarters, Sasuke closed the room's door and extracted the keys from his pocket, slipping them across the drawer beside him. 

He paused in front of the entrance and watched as the kunoichi begun to gingerly pad around the carpeted room. She bent over and carefully plucked her backpack from under the pile of white sheets on the ground and Sasuke did nothing - only watched her move around.

She bent to retrieve a towel and locks of hair slipped over her face. Graceful, slim fingers rose to tuck the stiff, mud-clumped strands delicately behind one ear.

The young Uchiha found himself simply observing. The sight of her pale skin shadowed against the soft light of the window from behind, the gentle curve of her nose and the soft, slight smile.

One leg stretched out, and Sasuke didn't miss the way her calves caught at the sun. His eyes took in the slim grace of her figure, the way she lightly stepped over the futon…

He very nearly smirked, remembering how the girl was so ironically clumsy with combat.

But then there was the intelligence hidden in her naivety and the charming, contageous affection she naturally had for everyone and everything.

And how could he have missed it.

Sasuke's shoulders lowered and his mouth softened.

Just one thought settled in quite naturally.

Sakura was… beautiful.

And the Uchiha finally realized that he did think much of it even if he'd been taught otherwise.

In his contemplation, he failed to anticipate the way her green eyes suddenly flickered up to him, distracted by his lack of motion. And Sasuke stiffened, realizing that she'd caught him in the middle of staring.

"Sasuke-kun?" she softly asked with a wrinkle of forehead, her backpack now dangling from one hand.

At the tone of her voice, he lowered his face, looking sideways at some part of the wall near the bathroom.

"You first." he broke in silently.

Tempting thoughts came, but the Uchiha abruptly pushed them away with a stubborn exhale and a cross of his arms.

"Oh, really." Sakura's tone was almost apprehending, and she pushed a hand to one hip with a bend of her head.

"And have you stand out here, dirtying the place…" the girl's voice rose with a small grin.

"Someone is going to come in and clean." The boy insisted and the crease between his eyebrows unknowingly deepened.

It wasn't just the girl's insistent nature.

Sasuke was finding it more and more difficult trying to stay away from her when he was well-aware duty always came first.

_This is a mission. Focus on the mission, Uchiha. Control it. It's simple. _

_Discipline. _

Trying to convince himself had never been so hard.

And strangely, had never felt so wrong.

Sakura was now in front of him. And how she got there, he didn't know.

It was a shock that his usually keen sense of awareness had failed him at that moment, but the fact that the kunoichi now had his backpack held out in front of him together with hers- That was even more surprising.

And then the girl surprised him yet again when he caught her hand rising to the zipper over her collar.

She pulled it down just enough so Sasuke caught a glimpse of the bandages around her chest.

"You want fast, right?" Sakura looked at him. "Taking a bath together will save more time."

The kunoichi gave him a feisty grin.

One Sasuke had only started seeing a few days ago.

And he discovered with irritation, that he rather liked that smile.

And that he liked the idea even more.

"It will save water too..." she gave a laugh and her eyes closed adorably.

But the boy was far from the point of laughing it off with her.

"Sakura…" the boy's jaw was ticking, "…You shouldn't be kidding about things like that."

She opened her eyes and the sparkling glimmer told him just how much she was enjoying the moment.

But after a pause, she'd settled and angled her head at him, emerald eyes searching.

"It's just… Sasuke-kun… you're always so serious. And…" the girl lowered her head with a bite of natural timidity, "When I heard you laugh this morning, I… wanted so much to hear more."

"But this is not funny." Sasuke snapped in a low voice. "Not after… just what I said a while ago…"

The boy's voice trailed off.

She looked up at him, captive interest stretching across her face.

"…You really want to… together, Sasuke-kun?"

"-What kind of a question is that… Matakeh!" He exhaled audibly and turned away.

His blushing flustered look, coupled with the confused aggravation was irresistible to her.

And the kunoichi admittedly couldn't understand her impulses. She stopped bothering with those ever since she'd first kissed him.

So she did what she wanted badly to do, slipping her arms around his sides, embracing him.

And to her brief joy, the boy didn't pull away.

"Don't be mad." She murmured charmingly with a small smile.

The warmth of him. The way his body visibly softened the moment she spoke.

On the outside Sasuke placed a fortress he wanted most everyone to think was impenetrable.

But she could with just the right kind of affection make him crumble.

And seeing what the boy was like on the inside… vulnerable, unguarded, even just a bit scared… –

Sakura could at times go so far to say… she might be clinging on to the moments only to hold him.

"…I'm hungry." The raven-haired boy said after a brief pause.

"I know…" He heard her say, and her voice continued.

"I know… what you want, Sasuke-kun."

And it was all in the way the kunoichi said it.

_What I want… _

His heart beat quickened. The rush of thoughts came. The heat and the longing. And the unbearable need.

The need for her.

More and more quickly, his sense of what was important – the mission, keeping away, remaining unmoved by emotions – it suddenly didn't make sense why he was still resisting.

Why he was so stubborn.

"…Sakura."

She heard the voice, loved the smooth octaves that reminded her so much of his graceful taijutsu. And suddenly Sakura's dress had loosened around her shoulders. She'd barely realized it.

The girl pulled away to a heated obsidian stare.

"The shower will be quicker than the tub." The boy whispered.

He tugged her zipper free the rest of the way.

And then the boy gave her a meaningful smirk. One that was just as easily losing to the urge of desperation in his eyes.

"A shower will be good." The girl agreed with a smile, reaching up and running her free hand over his spiky raven locks.

* * *

Kakashi was at the sixteenth page of his book. 

Naruto was halfway through his first bowl.

The crackling music continued to the slurps of the blonde genin and the jounin closed his eyes.

Kakashi wasn't the type to meddle. He never did unless he felt the need.

But this…

This was bothering him.

"Naruto…"

The genin focused slits of eyes at him, and he sucked a noodle sloppily into his mouth.

"Mm?"

"How do you feel…" the jounin silently asked, as he closed the book, "about Sasuke and Sakura?"

The blonde's eyes widened. All too readable for the experienced teacher.

Just as quickly Naruto tried to cover his look with one of boredom. "Eh? Kakai-sensei, what are you talking about?"

"There's really no need to keep it from me." The jounin tilted his gray head and gave a small smile. "It is already quite evident that the two are seeing each other."

Naruto choked.

And Kakashi was anticipating it. Just as every part of his student's predictable nature.

The blonde coughed some more, and then raised his teary eyes to a bamboo cup being held out to him.

He slowly took it with another strangled cough, pressing the rim to his mouth and drinking the warm tea.

"I'm fine with it." Naruto straightened after a pause, swiping the back of his hand over his mouth.

And the jounin narrowed his lazy eye at the boy and crossed his arms. "Really."

"Yes!" the blonde almost cried out, replicating the copy-ninja's defiant gesture with a flash of indignant blue eyes.

"Mm-mm..."

Silence.

"Kakai-sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto."

"How long have you known?" the blonde slowly asked, lowering his hands and slumping.

"For a while now." The jounin provided vaguely, and he kept his face uninterested.

"I suspected you would feel at least even a little bad… seeing as I know you have an interest for Sakura."

"I want her to be happy!" Naruto declared with even control, much too quickly.

"Of course." Kakashi nodded while his other hand once again reached for the pocket book. "But that doesn't mean you can't feel bad about it. And it doesn't mean you have to hide your feelings from everyone else."

The blonde lifted his eyes to his teacher, only to be greeted by the bright red cover of the book and a fluff of gray hair above it. Naruto was about to mopingly look down when he heard the jounin speak again.

"After all… that's what friends are for too, right?"

Naruto looked back as Kakashi lowered his book and gave a soft curl of eye. "Aside from being your teacher, I'm also a friend. So you're not alone."

He went back to the book, "I just wanted you to know that."

"Kakai-sensei…" Naruto mumbled with sudden suspicion. "…When you say 'I'm not alone'… Are you saying you like Sakura too?"

The jounin twitched and gave his student a flat look.

Naruto's whiskered cheeks rose and the boy gave a foxy grin.

_Ah well_… Kakashi wearily sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

_At least he's spoken. _

_He does like Sakura. _

* * *

Muddy crumbling bits of dirt were everywhere. 

Over the sink, the counter and the tiles, floating inside the toilet bowl and sliding to a stop inside the ceramic bath tub.

Sasuke's shirt went over his head and he dropped it distractedly over the floor just as Sakura's lips rushed to cover his.

She had a way of pressing forward, he noted.

And he had a way of backing up whenever she did.

The girl made a sound as he blindly slid his hands over her shoulders, pushing the crimson dress away from her. His mouth worked a hefty number of hungry combinations, tongue, teeth and lip nipping and kissing. The sleeves came away from her arms and he drew back breathlessly, pausing only to admire the way he'd ravished her.

The girl raised her head to study him, and Sasuke looked back unflinchingly.

Their breaths fell short in the silence and the boy and girl stood, filling in the moment with the familiar hesitation and coiled tension.

Sakura was the one who broke the spell.

With a determined smile, she shrugged off the offensive garment, and reached forward, hands pressing to his muddy shorts.

Her fingers freed one button. And he felt the material loosen.

Forced himself to breathe. But his chest ached while he waited for those agonizingly slow fingers.

"Come on, usuratonkachi…" he whispered with just a hint of impatience.

Sakura leaned forward to kiss the boy and she was getting better every time.

The tantalizing way she slipped her tongue across the line of his lip, flicked and teased, insistently playful, and aggressive and painfully sweet.

The world swung causing an upset in the boy's balance and he took a step back again.

His knees folded into the toilet bowl behind him and Sasuke stumbled into the plastic seat with the girl's arms still stubbornly clinging around his shoulders, and her mouth still sharing his air.

Such clumsiness should have irritated him. But now, he no longer cared.

"The shower..." his breath wedged, "…is that way."

The girl's lip was nibbling along the clean side of one cheek and she pulled away with just a bit of difficulty.

"Yes, that way…- … I know." The girl distractedly answered.

The need pushed. He wanted more.

Sasuke's mouth came forward and he crushed her lips to his, surrounding himself in the warmth as her arms lowered to his sides, grasping at the material of his shorts. She tugged and Sasuke lifted his hips so the girl could slip it off.

Lower. The shorts landed somewhere behind them and the kunoichi's hands stretched in frantic exploration across his stomach, settling over the planes of muscle and skin. His body arched into her palms and her fingers molded over the rising twins of his pelvis, onto the garter of cloth clinging there precariously.

The last bit of cloth.

Sakura made to tug at the material, but his hands reached out for her skin, briefly skimming across ribs and settling over her back, nimbly unfastening the knot of bandages that wrapped across her chest. Hurried and heated. His fingers knew where to go and soon he'd undone the complex tangle and started unraveling. With each tug, the gauze loosened, exposing the kunoichi's smooth, flushed skin and Sasuke craved more and more.

"You're a quick learner…" Sakura said. And he looked into the burning green of her eyes, knowing he could in reality spend mere seconds learning, but that it was never enough. Not with her.

The girl silently pulled the bandages away and he finally saw her nakedness, felt the fire that came with the memories, remembered what she wanted and how she wanted. He reached up, more willingly now than the first time, and touched her - pushing his fingers into the weight of her small, full breasts, brushing his palms over the sensitive peaks and loving the falter of her breath when he did.

His body tightened seeing the way Sakura's eyes lowered to him. Her sweeping eyelashes pressing to heated skin.

"… What about…" the airiness of her voice broke the silence.

"This." She reached down to his boxers.

"This… I'll do it." The raven-haired boy cut in.

The girl pulled away and Sasuke stood, almost hesitated. Struck suddenly at the sight of the kunoichi as she settled back, face flushed, dark shades of glistening emerald eyes watching him.

"Sasuke-kun…" She murmured, for no particular reason at all. Her voice was filled with a need he so recognized and his stomach curled with heat when he saw the way Sakura bit at her moist lip.

His insides clawed. The boy discovered he rather liked the way she looked. The restraint and lust she hid under the thin layer of girlish shyness.

Yes, he did like that look.

Sasuke's twist of mouth turned into a grin and he slipped one side of his boxers lower, purposely giving her a glimpse of more pale skin, curves of hipbone, the flat lower belly…

The thoughts of breakfast, a waiting mentor, Naruto, all of it left him.

Sakura's eyes flickered as the sight greeted her and she almost diverted her gaze reflexively, only to find that she couldn't really.

But Sasuke thought he liked it even more now, the way her eyes fastened steadily on him.

It stirred something inside he'd barely been aware of - to try to tease and lure Sakura just as she'd done to him and the thrill of it causing his frantic heartbeat, the rising anticipation.

He'd never felt excitement the way it came now, something new yet again.

Sasuke lifted his eyes to her.

And he knew his body wanted it badly.

He slipped one hand into his shorts.

And he very nearly smiled with satisfaction when the kunoichi's eyes widened before she quickly blanched deep red.

Seeing the way his actions affected her, gaining the upper hand and dominance… The delicious feeling heightened his boldness.

"… Sakura…?" He knew the girl liked the breathy whisper of her name, just by looking at the subtle changes on her face and in her eyes, her sudden escalation of breath.

His hand moved - an upward slide of knuckle against cloth and he gave her a slow, lazy blink, with just a trace of a curling smirk.

"Mmm…" He gave a low, quiet hum.

"Sakura."

_Oh gods…_

The girl realized she'd given a soft, high gasp. Unable to help it at all.

Her chest felt mere seconds from exploding, and she hadn't known, didn't ever think she would see it… - Such a different side of him, more surprising, much bolder than she ever imagined even in the best of her daydreams.

After she had slightly recovered and shut her eyes in embarrassment, the girl finally spoke.

"Please, Sasuke-kun when you do that-"

"…I know you like it." He gave her a charming smirk that diminished the traces of arrogance and the boy withdrew his hand.

"Now turn on the water."

She didn't hesitate at all.

The water was coming down at full-blast and the sound drowned out their breath.

And then Sasuke had slipped closer, sliding his hands over his boxers, finally peeling the material off.

She did the same with her own pine-green shorts.

But before she could start with her underwear, his mouth had pressed to one muddy cheek. And his heated breath stirred at her neck.

"You should accept… whatever it is I might do in this shower."

Then the boy hooked one finger over the lace for her, and pushed the panties down.

"I should tell you the same thing." Sakura whispered, stepping even closer.

And at the sound of her voice, at the idea, the boy finally caved, pulling her into the water with him.

The mud fell off their skin, out of their hair and down their chins, spreading out into murky pools of transluscent brown. Water cascaded down their faces and the recent memory came over Sakura as the boy's lips parted hers - when he had kissed her in the rain, and she'd first felt his love, when he'd first shown he accepted her.

But even this was more than that.

She felt like she knew him now – more than ever. She felt closer to him.

Sasuke pulled away after a moment, reaching for the soap, working a good lather. Cleaning and scrubbing until he stopped, because the kunoichi had dumped cold shampoo over the top of his stubborn spikes.

He turned around to her already foamy white head, and the sight of the girl almost made him crack a smile.

At least until she suddenly reached up with both hands to playfully scrub at his hair.

"I can do that." Sasuke pulled away with a look of annoyance. "And this is too much shampoo. I'll smell like flowers."

A giggle shook her, and the boy gave a brief snort, though he didn't at all feel upset.

Really, it was strange.

This feeling.

His gray-rimmed eyes fell over the soaked strawberry shade of Sakura's hair as she laughed, and he noticed the way his own mouth finally tugged upward with a smile of its own.

Sakura, he realized with a softening gaze, was slowly starting to change him.

The tensai heard no opposing voice in his head anymore.

The way he had worked to train himself all this time. That unfeeling person in his mind, was someone he no longer wanted to be.

His purpose, his revenge, suddenly seemed insignificant.

Petty compared to what Sakura had opened his eyes to. Useless because it would achieve nothing worthwhile.

His hands came forward, touching to the flat expanse of her stomach, running soap down Sakura's belly, and up between the middle of her breasts. He loved the way she sighed in contentment, though he said nothing. Her fingertips pressed to his scalp and she watched the water run through her hand and over his dark, feathered locks, moved her gaze lower to the soap bubbles sliding along his broad shoulders and down his chest. Blinking back the streaming water, she found the curve of his jaw and kissed it, opening her lips to the trickle of droplets and tasting the sweetness. Sasuke's body responded, rubbing with need against her, scraping his teeth over her earlobe, feeling soaked silken strands on his nose.

She gave a sharp gasp when one of his hands made the bold move along her inner thigh, teasing the bulk of artery there. And with ease he proceeded to wash her, running the bar of soap up the hollow of her spine, towards the curve of nape, and down. Sakura shivered.

"Cold?" The boy lightly asked, and his tone was almost nonchalant in comparison to his tender gestures.

Sakura realized that as strange as it was, despite the warm shower, she was indeed feeling the bite of a chilly draft at certain places, but that it was the least of her cares.

"Actually yes I am, but-" Sakura's voice ended tightly with a swallow because the boy's hand was now snaking along her legs, dipping with slippery soap into crevices, that apart from him, only she had ever touched, spreading out over the curves of her thighs, swiping between the gap of her legs…

"Good." He whispered with a glint of dark eyes.

Just as the word ended, the boy slid her left leg sideways and pressed it to the tiles with enough impatience to cause a reaction in her mint-green irises. And then he smirked, running the soap bar in his hand over her dangling lower leg, soaping higher to the side of her knee and across her inner thigh, closer and closer to where she needed it, until she sucked at her lip and unknowingly swallowed water.

And he finally reached her intimate center, using the back of his hand and his knuckles to tease the sensitivity with more soap, watching the girl squirm under him until she was pulling in small sounds. "Mmm… Sasuke-kun."

"Yes..." He unthinkingly responded pressing his lips over her slight whimper.

One last time, he soaped her stomach. And then rinsed the bar and placed it in its dish.

The chills came over the surface of her skin, battling with the heat underneath as she looked at him.

And the sensation of cold intensified, oddly foreign but pleasant.

"…Do you know, Sakura…" his voice broke in. And the boy's eyes moved over her face before the dark, spheres of onyx glinted.

"…That menthol applied to the skin naturally increases bloodflow…?"

_Menthol. _Her eyes flickered and he smirked knowingly.

_So that's what is in the soap. _

"The skin becomes more sensitive to pressure, and the senses heighten." She said with a faltering murmur.

…_More sensitivity. _

…_Senses heightening._

Her stomach wedged.

And soon, she did start to feel the effects rushing along her lower body, flooding into her center as the water rinsed away the soap bubbles. "I've never had this before."

"It's a stone village specialty." The boy said, pressing his palm up her middle. "This soap."

They couldn't afford to waste any more time.

The girl felt the sure motion of his hands and his moist lips settled over her chin, tongue lapping up at the rivulets of water, spearing into her open mouth and caressing the softness inside.

"Mmmm…-" Sakura couldn't help moaning, shutting her eyes to the heat spreading out over her face, and the sudden responsiveness of her body to his fingers. She arched into his hand, needing more. Her slim fingers clutched to his locks of hair. And then she tightened with a soft intake of breath when Sasuke circled her and finally pushed a finger in deep.

"Your arm-" she squeezed out, "You're not supposed to move it around, Kakai-sensei will-"

"-Sakura, stop talking." He mused with a pained smile. "I don't care."

"But- Sa-…" the girl whimpered, tightening her grip around his nape when he pushed a second finger inside and started rocking his palm. And the struggle that came over her face, the flitting pleasure and concern for him, the way her fine eyebrows stiched together in conflict. He came forward, ignoring his own unfulfillment and taking from her, hearing her harsh breath and feeling the willingness of her mouth against him. Another hand came forward to stroke the sensitive bump outside and the girl's upright knee almost buckled if Sasuke weren't pressing her so close to the wall.

He'd learned enough in the forest to know just where and how to touch her. And his hands settled easily into the rhythm he knew gave her the best kind of pleasure.

"Sasuke-kunn-!" she gasped out against him. Her muscles tightened and she wedged, eyes catching the slight glistening gray orbs. The ecstacy worked up rapidly into her spine, tightening underneath her stomach, heat flowing amidst the cooling effect of the soap.

The combination felt wonderful and her harsh breath flooded over him as the water struck their bodies.

The pad of his finger was only so light to caress her, but Sakura finally knew what "heightened senses" meant. And she gasped tight against him as the feelings washed over her middle and down between her legs. Her heartbeat accelerated and the blood rushed to places that ached with need for more stimulation.

But he knew this.

And Sasuke was relentless, never breaking the motion. He watched despite his own clamors, the way each stroke pushed the kunoichi under him higher and faster to that brink where nothing mattered anymore but those few seconds that seemed to encompass everything.

And Sakura surprised the boy suddenly, unaware that she was doing it, but that her hips rocked against him the way he'd imagined countless times before he closed his eyes at night.

A groan escaped him at the sight of her. Flushed and needing so badly her hands gripped his shoulders.

"Sakura…" She heard his whisper of desperation amidst the flood of pleasure.

And the voice pushed her closer.

"…A bit more-" the girl moaned. And he kissed her.

Just a bit.

Sasuke felt it in the way she trembled, the way her hips suddenly arched so his fingers naturally pushed in deeper, even when he did nothing. And then her teeth bit down with another moan over his lower lip. Something she had never done before and was wise to never do again. Because the simple act finally sent his tolerance off.

He shoved her back with one shoulder and bit just as hard on her lip, closing his eyes to the small cries that told him she would all too soon, shatter.

Abruptly, he remembered how intimate, how complete it felt to look into Sakura's eyes at that moment of unsurpassable pleasure. He only wanted the same for her.

"Sakura?-" He whispered, "Look at me… Sakura."

She was. He realized, already looking at him, with her beautiful flecks of sea green. Her cheeks bloomed with heat and he saw how it made the kunoichi even more desirable.

His onyx eyes observed her in with a mixture of hunger and fascination.

And the pleasure drove her as she finally broke, the gush of feeling shook Sakura till she wrapped her leg around his back and cried out, losing herself to the repeating motion of his hands. The pulses continued to strike, bittersweet in torrents, and her head dragged up with small murmurs over the tiles at her back, saying his name again and again, until the feeling faded into calming warmth and Sasuke's hands settled with a light press over her skin.

The thrill of sending her there and then watching the climax of emotion, the response of Sakura's body to him…

It made Sasuke ache even more for her.

And it was worse than anything he had felt, even more agonizing than the pain in his left arm.

"I need you…" The boy suddenly whispered.

The first time Sakura had ever heard him really say it. And the magnitude it brought was enough for her to think it was a tear that trailed down her cheek, though it might have only been the water.

Her hand slipped between them, wrapped around him to the sound of his faltering breath. And the agonizing strokes came, slow and paced, sweet and gentle the way Sakura always was. His body hated it, but every other part of him loved it.

"… Haven't you learned anything?" he stubbornly said.

"Haven't you?" she asked back with a lingering smile.

"I've been trying to teach you to be patient, Sasuke-kun."

"I'll be patient some other time." He shot back hurriedly. And he pushed his groin forward with emphasis.

With a laugh, the girl reached out sideways and lathered at the soap. Wordlessly, Sakura stroked it over his hard length and Sasuke gave a smirk. "Oh…?"

She blinked lazily and gave him a squeeze, watching his eyes lose all casualness at the gesture.

Her grip was firm, but still, painfully slow as she slid over his tip and down against his hilt and Sasuke's head lowered with a soft hiss. "Damnit, you're being a tease."

Another hand came to clutch at one side of his bottom and his eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

"I love how firm you are." The girl boldly stated with a grin and she gave the cheek a squeeze.

The boy's eyebrows stitched together and he gave a sharp thrust in response.

"Move your hand, Sakura."

She stroked along his head and the thrill spiked so much his eyes fell shut and he buried his mouth into her neck. So Sakura settled into the motion, hard even strokes and brief pulls to his sensitive tip. Before long, Sasuke was starting to enjoy the heightening ride of pleasure, groaning and scraping teeth along her jaw, slipping his hands over her breasts in appreciation. Her hands gave another squeeze to his bottom and he discovered with a low growl that he might like it. He thrust at her, obsidian eyes narrowing into tiny slits of pleasure.

"Room-cleaning." Came a muffled voice from outside.

Sakura's hand paused, mid-stroke. And the boy gave a muttered curse.

It had slipped Sasuke's mind.

Had the person just let herself in?

Yes, he realized with aggravation, the inn's staff did have access to all rooms.

_Matake. _

"Go ahead!" Sakura suddenly bit out loudly from under him.

He gave her a look and she stared back with a feisty grin.

"Okay then…" the voice responded through the crack in the bathroom door this time,

"I'll just let myself out afterwards."

"She knows it's just me in here. Better be quiet now, Sasuke-kun…" the girl mused in a hushed tone, and her eyes danced.

_Quiet?_

She gave his length a tug, and the boy sucked in a breath.

_Quiet. _

_The rush of water would silence small sounds, but if he wasn't careful they would be found out._

The thought died because the menthol was spreading nicely and Sakura's hand was gripping hard once again. Pulling at the tip and moving down, giving a few more strokes until her hand left to explore more of him, down past the shaft…

He pushed in another breath when she reached to clutch lower at another part she hadn't yet touched.

His body reacted with a jerk.

"Sakura…" he clenched his teeth, fighting down the odd blush that suddenly came over him.

"…This feels different." The girl giggled discreetly, silencing herself into his shoulder as she gently cupped him. She kneaded with curiosity, and it was to her just another part of Sasuke she wanted to learn.

But her touch had unknowingly called something else from him, and the fire raged, causing his eyelids to lower with pleasure. He was turned on, and the flickers of red in his eyes told her.

"Still feels good to me." He murmured, between barely parted lips.

And then he was pushing on her, doing himself the favor, dragging his pelvis over hers and insinuating the friction. Rougher and more insistent now, tongue flickering out at the girl's chin and lip.

He pulled away with hard eyes. "That was my limit-" he said with a breathless pant.

"And you've breached it."

Sakura was surprised with the boy's sudden power as he clutched her hip and pulled it to his body.

With a thrust, the full length of him slid along her grip, and the girl found herself watching heatedly, stroking, as he rocked into her hand. His head fell back and one hand wrapped around her nape in a grip for control.

"Sakura…" He pushed out, eyes falling shut to the droplets of water trailing down his flushed cheeks.

She responded to the heated whisper, catching his lip with her teeth and sucking. The boy gave a low moan into her mouth.

The first spiral of waves came, and Sakura felt the boy stiffen over her, biting back harsh sound as sleek wetness leaked into her palm.

And then the pleasure was escalading more and more, controlling his desperate thrusts for motion, the shallow struggles for more air.

He needed…

Needed… her.

"Tighter-" Sasuke tore out with distressed breath against the girl.

"…Like this." Sakura squeezed him and his chin tilted to the ecstacy, eyes flying shut.

Barely a moment passed and already Sasuke was losing the control, his love-bitten mouth pressing sloppy kisses over every stretch of skin he could reach. Pleasure - spikes of it came…

And he ground into her with a shudder, biting down over the curve of her neck.

Sakura responded with an upward arch of her own, her slim hips brushing against his.

And now he was at that point, teetering at the invisible cliff, so close and about to fall.

And badly… he wanted it. To feel the way she would finally tighten around him when their bodies joined.

Her hands loosened over him and he took the opportunity, gave in to the need, sliding his length over her intimate opening, enjoying the foreign sensation that felt only right. Lower, until he was probing at her soft entrance and she was spreading out for him. Ready.

So close, he could do it… enter her right now.

She saw the raging desperation on his face.

"Sasuke-kun…" At her voice, his hazy eyes lifted to her.

"It's okay." She urged softly. And Sasuke looked at her flushed face, into her accepting eyes, torn in decision.

But a part of him knew he wasn't thinking clearly and she was no different.

Not at this point when they were both run by the moment.

_This is the wrong place, the wrong time. _

But she wanted it. As much as he did. Sakura was more than willing.

_Yes_. His insides roared at the idea. _Do it._

_Her first time. Right now. _

_You're so close. _

_Do it._

"No." he ripped out sharply, and he pulled away, pushing a hand to himself and finishing off. The pleasure came, it streaked through him in high euphoria the way it always did. And he ignored the slight emptiness, shutting his eyes in frustration and pushing his mouth to hers instead. Her hands pressed to his hips as he gave in to the harsh pleasure - caving with a silent moan he was careful only the girl would hear.

And Sasuke couldn't help himself, his mouth found a discreet place on her neck he knew would be hidden by the collar of her dress, and he bit down on the surface, sucking a dark rosy mark to her skin, claiming her. His own.

_Mine._

_Just mine._ Sasuke couldn't help the selfishness, and his tongue traced with finality at the portion of skin that was already starting to bruise.

They both heard the door to the room close with a muffled thump, and knew the house-keeper had finished.

Sakura looked down at the boy in her arms as his body softened against her with a low release of breath.

"Sasuke-kun…" Her voice held the lingering question, the wavering confusion and disappointment.

"No…" he repeated.

Sakura watched him raise his crimson eyes to her.

She saw that the black tomoe dots were already fading.

"Because it's not right." His low voice spoke, "…On a comfortable bed, when we have all the time to do it. Then…" His voice trailed off.

Her green eyes softened with understanding and the girl kissed his cheek with a tender smile.

"…The way I'd always wanted." The kunoichi murmured.

"Then… that's how we'll do it." Sasuke gave in with a sigh, and he reached up to turn the shower off.

* * *

The leaves of the forest rustled and glitters of sun struck against the ANBU captain's metal arm protectors as he adjusted his headset. In silence he scrutinized the two people standing casually in front of him. 

"You…?" Keska's brown eyes flickered towards the first jounin, and then he angled his head sideways towards the other jounin with a raised eyebrow. "Both of you?"

"Yes sir." Daisuke grinned and the toothpick in his mouth lifted.

"Candidates for my new ANBU team." The commander gruffly mumbled with a scratch to his vest, and he cringed as the stitches gave a pinch of pain.

Damn Shizune-chan and her special "fondness" for him.

Ah, fuckbit.

"Well, if we successfully track the two Akatsuki members down then, yes." Atom said as he played at his explosion of curls with one burly hand and gave a small smile.

"Okay…" the ANBU captain dragged out with an arched eyebrow and he crossed his arms.

His eyes settled over the smaller jounin. "What can you do?"

Daisuke's odd purple eyes shifted and he gave Captain Keska a hesitant look. "Excuse me… sir?"

"Your talents, lilac boy. C'mon… wow me! The credentials you have, potential skills to utilize, your clan abilities and achievements, the amount of A-rank missions and the class of criminals you've brought down… maybe even the number of times you've stared at a man and he'd raced off pissing his trousers." The brown-haired commander was ticking the points off his gloved fingers, "…and everything else you can contribute to this mission, so we can bring the bull-fucks down with everything we have, got it?"

"I got it sir." Daisuke said with a half-nod, and a choked laugh.

"This isn't funny, lilac-boy." The captain leaned against the tree with sudden seriousness. "Now tell me. Better yet, show me what you got."

"Well…" The smaller jounin shook a lock of midnight-blue hair away from his face and his dark-purple eyes peered down and all around the captain's face and body. "Right now, I can tell that you've recently been near the hokage and her right-hand prodigy. And on your way over to see us, you'd met one of the Yamanaka clan members as well as come into direct contact with two to three people who are of jounin status…"

"Hmm…" Keska's mouth rose with amusement. "That's freaky-brilliant, lilac-boy."

"In the last two weeks, you've seen 4 dead bodies…" Daisuke continued with a blink, and Keska thought he saw a shift of the boy's purple irises. "And… I can tell there's something alive currently hidden in the grass about a feet from where you're standing, captain."

The commander jerked and abruptly looked down. "Oh great sun god's ass-hat is that an actual Torai bullfrog? Holy shit…"

The two jounin's flinched with shock as the captain quickly lowered to the ground with a childish grin.

"Holy fuckin' shit!!" His finger reached out to poke and Atom finally saw the large amphibian leap forward to scramble up a rock.

"…I haven't seen this kind with the orange stripe since I was in first grade." Keska gave a chuckle and just as suddenly he stopped and the 21 year old's shoulders lowered with a nostalgic sigh.

But the captain pushed himself up from the grass with newfound interest.

"That's hella-credible, Daisuke. Explain how you do it?"

"I can see chakra signatures or general life force, even when they are behind objects or placed under genjutsu…" the jounin started, before looking at Atom and then continuing, "…and I can see the residue as it gets passed along to other people. The dead have their own signature and I can recognize that too."

The captain listened to everything, and then gave a nod as he scrubbed at a stubbled cheek.

"What else is there?"

"Here?... Ah, eto… There's another frog, I think-"

"No." The captain broke in with a crumbling frown, "I mean your skills, ass-hat."

"Right." the jounin suddenly bit out, and he internally cringed. "My clan specializes in breaking curses and seals."

"Dispelling? Well that's perfect, pretty-boy." The captain stepped forward and gave Daisuke a hard slap to his back. "You're hired. Because our trippy bull-fucks just love messing around with things of that sick nature. Now… "

Atom looked down as the captain stood in front of him. "You, oxy-moron. I presume your talent is mindlessly throwing shuriken at innocent passers-by?"

"Sir, I did apologize for that incident." The bear-like jounin frowned.

"Yes. And I've forgiven you." The captain casually shrugged. "But you see, oxy-moron, I am a natural jerko-bastard and have an affinity for making fun of people." Keska gave a grin and stretched one hand over his head. "So tell me, Atom, are you handy?"

A ball of spikes came out of nowhere, dropping with a heavy thunk in front of the captain's face, and Keska raised one eyebrow. Looking up at the glint of steel and following the winding stretch as it led into the large jounin's dark shirt-sleeve.

"Interesting." The brown-haired ANBU captain murmured.

"And you can manipulate what other part of your body to do that? Are you strong enough?"

"All of it." Atom stated in answer to the man's first question, and the second one…

The jounin reached out behind Keska's shock of spiky brown hair, at the tree standing there.

And the captain didn't bother moving when the jounin yanked it effortlessly out of the ground by its smaller branch, with one clutch of a hand. Keska watched bits of bark, pebbles and one small bird's nest drop to the spaces of ground around him.

"Ah." He grinned after a brief pause. "Well, ain't that shitloads worth of energy pills."

The captain shook his head and pinched fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, oxy, you've proved your point. Now, please… replant the tree and let's start talking about this "trail" the both of you say you've found."

At the mention of the trail, both jounins' faces grew shadowed, each aware of their share in the responsibility, of the future and the outcome. And after a few more words from Keska, the three men leaned in to formulate the conclusive discussion plan.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Gyaahhhhh!!! First of all, so so sorry that it took longer than I usually do to update this chapter. I went to China, and when I got home I was just too lazy and focused on some art instead. AHHH!!! –prepares to shield herself from tomatoes- Please, you know the drill! Basket and Sasuke at the corner! (haha)**

**Anyways, I know many of you were waiting for this supposedly great lemon, and I do hope I've satisfied at least some of the readers. (-.-)" –sweatdrops- **

**Believe it or not I've worked hard on this. And if I've disappointed anyone… please treat me nicely still. And tell me in a nice way what I've done wrong. Thanx all for reading. And as usual, I'm a sucker for comments and if you love love love meeee… -winks and then sweatdrops- Wahh-… oh just comment already. :D**


	30. SOON

**AUTHORS NOTES: **

**One thing I request, dear reader, is that you put your thinking cap on for this one. This chapter is not a breeze-through, it needs a bit of brain juice. J **

**(-.-)" yknow how im like that.**

**And now… that you're settled in and cozy, alright…! **

… **Let's start this chapter NICELY. ;P**

CHAPTER 30

She watched the shifting muscles across his shoulder blades as he unzipped his backpack and her eyes fell over the portion of skin just over his left side.

Sasuke was lifting out his blue shirt when he felt the press of her fingers to his back and the boy angled his head sideways, catching an almost melancholic green stare, not directed at him, but at his shoulder.

"Does it still hurt?" He heard her murmur in question.

And the boy finally realized what it was that had gotten her attention.

"Only sometimes…" Sasuke answered, "When I use complicated ninjutsu that takes too much chakra."

Her fingers traced along the dark, tattered circle of the cursed seal, pressing around the three swirling tomoes inside it and her eyes lowered with traces of shadows touching around the beams of emerald.

"My only wish is that you never use it again, Sasuke-kun. That's all I want."

And the girl came forward, pressing her mouth to the mark, somehow believing she could place her own special seal over it.

_Please… don't destroy Sasuke. _

_Don't turn him into an unthinking monster. _

"Sakura…" his shoulder shifted against her cheek and the boy turned around. His pale fingers clutched at her bare arms and the boy lowered - soft mouth sweeping light over her upper lip in what might have been a brush of tender assurance.

Sasuke lingered for a complete moment and then he pulled away slightly, his eyes opening only enough so she saw nothing but gray amidst thick eyelashes.

"…Did I scare you?"

"…Scare me?" she asked with a slow blink.

_What was he talking about?_

"When you saw the mark spread for the first time… Did I scare you?" the boy questioned again.

_The mark._

And the memory came back to Sakura, of the unusual swirls of purple chakra, the terrifying flash of madness in his eyes, the torn slashes of black tapered into his skin. The way he could have killed that sound ninja mindlessly if she hadn't stopped him.

"..Yes." Her voice came with a slight tremble, and the tensai's eyes opened at the tone.

She lifted her face to him, "You scared me."

Inside him, somewhere under his chest, something gave a tight squeeze.

Pain, he recognized. Because he'd become something unpleasant, and Sakura did not like it.

He'd turned into a monster she didn't want.

"So. I scare you." the sudden stiffness of his tone made the girl glance up. And she watched the sharp raven locks covering his eyes, shadowing the emotions she could have read.

"What are you saying? That wasn't you, Sasuke-kun." She provided with a knitted brow, "It was the seal controlling you-"

"The seal IS part of me…" The boy interrupted, raising his head. "…Right now, I can't promise you that I won't use it again. And if I do-" His eyes suddenly flashed, "-then what, Sakura?"

"Sasuke-kun-" She started, but the boy didn't stop.

"Will you understand why, if there is a time I'll use it? If I think its right, can you trust my decision?"

His hands tightened around her arms reflexively, and the girl stood with her mouth slightly parted, unable to say anything.

"…Will you still… love me-?"

His voice faltered towards the end of the sentence as if he were trying to control anything else he was bound to say, and his eyes flickered, causing him to turn his head away.

Sakura felt his arms loosen from her shoulders, until he finally released her.

She knew where this was going. She suddenly understood him.

"Sasuke-kun…" she gently said, reaching up to brush at the strands covering his face.

"I'll admit it that Orochimaru's mark does frighten me... But-"

His eyes came away from the droplets on the white sink and he gave her a searching look, something he didn't conceal. The hope that depended on her next words.

"But I accept you…" The girl's mouth drew upwards, "everything that is you. And even with this…" her fingers brushed over his left shoulder, pressing into the dark mark, "I could never turn away from you."

Sasuke felt the brush of her hands along his cheek, bringing his face back to her green irises.

"I won't stop loving you just because this seal scares me." The girl said in finality. And her eyes grew solid with conviction. "I DO trust you… And when I say I love you, I do really mean it Sas-" Her declaration to him stopped because Sasuke had suddenly pulled her to his body in a tight embrace.

_Sasuke-kun. _Her eyes widened.

"You accept me…. That's what I wanted to hear. That's all I wanted to hear." He whispered into her neck. And the girl blinked past his spiky raven hair, into the silence that surrounded them. But the moment was there. And the girl would never forget it. Sasuke-kun was starting to show her more and more glimpses of him. Of what he feared most and what he wanted.

He was just as emotional and just as prone to getting hurt, and he needed her, just as much as she needed him.

At that point, standing in the bathroom wrapped in a naked embrace, skin to skin and yet harboring no need to do anything else but hold on to each other, the kunoichi realized it -

Sasuke had finally let her in. He wasn't hiding anymore.

Without words, he had started to trust her.

_I need you_.

And all her life since she'd known him, Sakura wished for nothing more. The love she felt for him swelled and the overwhelming feelings threatened. A torrent that had grown through the weeks they had been together, far from what it had been in the beginning.

_I love you, Sasuke-kun, so much._

And almost as if the boy had heard her thoughts, his mouth lifted, pressing warm into her temple with a breath.

Her vision blurred, and without even knowing it, the tears rolled down her cheeks as she pressed tight to him with a smile.

--

"So, let's go over this again." The brown-haired captain said.

He looked around and underneath his crouched legs for the missing twig, but he was unable to find it. Instead, he distractedly plucked the toothpick dangling from Daisuke's mouth and pointed it at the carved illustration etched into the ground soil.

"Hey…" The purple-eyed jounin muttered. "That was my last…"

"Well for crying out loud man, here." The captain snapped, all but shoving the toothpick back into the young man's mouth.

"No-no… sir, that's… alright." Daisuke mumbled, waving his hand carelessly.

Beside him, Atom gave a soft snort into one palm.

"…Holy dam. Alright. So-" Keska lowered the stick's tip over one side of the elaborate dirt-drawing, "-you started investigating this particular field of flowers - here - and you found evidence of a struggle, a female's life force and traces of another powerful water chakra signature, yes?"

"Yes." Both jounin nodded at around the same time.

"And along this point…" the wooden tip moved left towards a heavily dug line in the soil, "-The Konoha border leading into Earth Country, where my supposed astute group of meat-sticks have been patrolling for three days,…" Keska looked up flatly, "You say you spoke to a… hermit-man."

"A farmer, captain Keska. He's-"

"Yes. Yes, a hermit-man-farmer." The commander hurriedly rephrased for Atom.

"And he supposedly said…?"

"That two nights ago, he'd seen something that looked like a blob of walking water carrying a black-haired woman over his field." Daisuke provided. The jounin's hands probed around one vest pocket for a cigarette.

"Damnit, where's my pack of-"

His purple-eyes shifted when the ANBU commander held up a gloved hand.

"Hold back killing lung cilia for a few minutes, pretty-boy. Now, movin' along – Away from Konoha and across Earth Country's left border – here - … you found an abandoned cart carrying wooden barrels along the side of the road… with the very same type of water chakra signature. And the driver of the cart is…?"

"We didn't find the driver of the cart." Atom finished, with a beady-eyed blink. "But Daisuke thinks the driver is no longer alive."

"Yes and aren't we all so shit-grinnin' optimistic. However, I'll have to admit that it does sound like Bull-fuck work to me."

The captain finished the sentence with a stretch of his arms over his head and a tongue-curling yawn.

After a pause, Keska had reclined backwards with a thump over the grass and closed his eyes.

Daisuke made to call the man, but the captain opened one eye and raised another hand to silence him. "Hold it lilac, gimme a moment."

And the jounin did, dropping his shoulders and finally sitting with a backwards slide into the soft ground. Atom silently held out a pack of cigarettes and his purple-eyed comrade extracted one stick from the crinkled box with a satisfied sigh.

"So, here's my take on it…" Keska said after a short silence, opening his honey-colored eyes.

The brown-haired captain sat up and one bicep flexed as he reached a hand out between the space.

"Our female victim was abducted by - as Daisuke suspects - a high level water-jutsu… which works - if we tie it in with descriptions of our "fish." "Fish" being Akatsuki Bullfuck One. Now…" his honey eyes shifted keenly over his two quiet subordinates, "I've seen this water-clone. Fuckin' ugly bag of jelly that packs a sweet taijutsu combo. It must have pulled the lights out on our girl to keep her quiet, though I doubt gelatinous dolts have brains at all.This one was probably controlled to bring our victim across the Konoha border into Earth… where, I believe, Akatsuki Bullfuck One was chilling in his cart. " Keska paused to run a hand wearily over his face, and his eyes peered out at the two men from between his fingers.

"Following so far?"

"But… Keska-sempai-"

"Damnit Daisuke, how many times till its crystal? Don't call me that!-"

"_Captain-"_ The jounin corrected with emphasis. "Why would he need a cart?"

"-Because my keen ass-hat, carts have wheels, and they can move. He used it as a vehicle to get from the south border to the west border, to the expense of another man's life – the cart driver. But as you've already mentioned it's been abandoned…" the ANBU commander pulled distractedly at his brown spikes and thumbed the katana's holster on his waist.

"He used the cart. But what the bastard really needed was _in_ the cart. The wooden barrels. To avoid drawing attention, he'd most likely hidden our victim in one and used this means to transport her around the village, after which…" Keska continued in a gruff voice, "to avoid suspicion, he abandoned the cart in Earth Country, where it should stay, and took the girl in the barrel, traversing into Stone."

The purple-eyed jounin's face cleared with understanding and he gave a slow nod. "I see."

"Glad you're not blind." The captain curtly said with a flash of irritation coming over his handsome face.

"But sir, another thing is bothering me…" The purple-eyed jounin hesitantly looked up at the ANBU leader.

"Aren't there two Akatsuki members? If only one was at the cart, then where was the other one?"

"In Stone." The young captain answered simply.

"…Eh? Why the Stone Village anyway?" Daisuke's eyes filled with confusion.

"Heh." The brown-haired commander gave a grin, "Daisuke. Why do you think our man went through the trouble of kidnapping a young, defenseless villager from Konoha?"

"How the hell should I know?" The purple-eyed jounin sighed with a shrug, "I'm not screwed in the head."

"But you will be… By ME, nonetheless. Because you aren't using even a speck of what's between your ears, and I'll be damned if I have a brainless nit on my future team." The 21-year-old looked at him with solid brown eyes.

"Well…" the other jounin, Atom, who had been silently listening, finally spoke with a bob of his black curls.

"He did mention something about Hatake Kakashi disappointing him-… and this woman could possibly be connected to Hatake Kaka-" A finger flew to the hefty jounin's face and he froze with a large jerk of his beady eyes.

"BINGO oxy-moron, you nailed it and you've just been promoted. I've already forgotten about that kunai incident." The captain's grin widened and he lowered his hand.

"Here's the thing, I took into consideration the "fish's" phrase. 'Tell Hatake Kakashi, that he is a disappointment to me.' Chances are… he wanted to get copy-boy riled up because one fight just wasn't good enough for him. But Hatake didn't take the bait. So the "fish" has opted for more drastic measures by kidnapping Yume-san. After I thought of it some more, most of the agenda suddenly clicked together. Now listen carefully, dolts – especially you lilac-boy, 'coz I fuckin' swear you're thinking processes move slower than those three old geezers from the Konoha council."

Daisuke cringed and then he frowned.

"Before I got here," The crass commander continued, "I saw the most recent record of missions on the hokage's table. Apparently, copy-boy has been on a mission with his genin team to Stone for two days now…" Keska crossed his arms and peeked over at Daisuke.

"And where did you say the abandoned cart was, lilac boy."

"At the Earth's border."

"Okay, that's right, and beyond that is…?" The ANBU captain gestured patiently.

"Oh!" The jounin exclaimed with an enlightened grin. "The Stone Village."

"Yes! Very iffin' good, Daisukehh. You'll get the sweetbun later. So somehow, our target-psychofucks were well aware Kakashi and his genin were heading for Stone. One Akatsuki member decided to follow copy-boy to affirm his location, and the other stayed behind to kidnap our girl. After which they both discreetly planned to meet… at their final destination-"

"-In Stone… Ah, Captain…" Daisuke's eyes flowed with newfound reverence. And Keska watched the man give a low, meaningful bow of his head.

"I'm honored to work for someone with your level of analysis and skill."

The ANBU leader blinked his honey-brown eyes at the lowered head in front of him and a kinked grin erupted over his face.

"… Dangle any lower and you just might flip over. Now send a bird to the hokage on what we've hypothesized so far."

"Yosh! Captain!"

Daisuke walked off and the ANBU leader's mouth lowered into a frown as his honey eyes scanned the blades of grass in hard thought.

_But still… What does this all mean?_

_Sure. Another shitload of problems and good mindfucking. _

_Nothing I can just let go of and nothing I can afford to screw up. Because if I do…? _

_Hatake… might just be in serious trouble. And I will never be able to forgive myself._

The grim thought came and the commander clenched his jaws.

…_And what do those assholes get out of this? All that preparation… just to toy with an elite ninja of the leaf? _

_No… _Keska's eyes solidified with finality. _There has to be something bigger._

_By the looks of it, the girl is definitely bait… _His forehead wrinkled.

_But to lure Hatake into something? …Or… To lure him away from something?_

_Something…?_

… _Or someone._

Another thought struck Keska and the captain swallowed as a trickle of cold dread traipsed over his spine. _They WERE dealing with Uchiha Itachi._

_Could that mass-murdering psycho possibly still be after Sasuke? Highly possible of course. _

_But why would the bastard do this with the help of another Akatsuki member? _

_And even more questionably, why would the other Akatsuki member be so willing to go out of his way to help Itachi?_

The young ANBU leader was at a loss, finger distractedly toying with his black headset's receiver. But despite his cluelessness, something inside him knew that this current situation could invite no underestimation. Not under his close watch. He wouldn't allow it.

They had to move quickly if they wanted to warn Hatake in time.

"Alright!"

At Keska's sudden boom of voice, the two jounins - who were busy slipping a scroll into a majestic, black hawk's left leg - snatched their heads up.

"Get yourselves packing, dolts. We're going to Stone." Keska said, after which, the young commander proceeded to address both jounins in a tone of systematic authority.

"We leave in 0300 hours, pack light and bring the essential varieties of portable weaponry, strategic meeting point at the North gate, adjust your headsets to the proper transmission and- holy fuckin' wowme!" Keska's voice had risen with fascination.

Both jounin jumped, watching his head tilt down to the grass distractedly, and Atom gave a pained stare when Keska abruptly lowered.

There was a flash of movement and the young captain soon emerged clutching a large bucking toad by its leg. It dangled with a throaty froggish cry and showed off a glint of thick orange stripe.

It was even bigger than the last one Daisuke had pointed out.

The broad-shouldered, bear-like jounin raised one bushy black eyebrow as the ANBU commander shot them a boyish grin and held out the toad.

"AHA! Torai-Bullfrog's older brother…" The 21 year old's eyes sparkled with delight.

"Are you seeing the size of this, boys? Holy mother of shits!"

--

"Naaaa- Haaaa Haaaa…"

"Haaaaa -… Naaaa-Haaaaa."

Naruto's light eyebrows drew together and he pushed his whiskered face closer to the bars of the steel cage as the bird persistently made its odd shrieks.

"Haaaa… Haaaa…."

It was now mid-afternoon.

After Sasuke and Sakura had come to join their mentor and teammate for breakfast, they had gone straight to the mountains. In just thirty minutes, the team had finished scanning the majority of the forest area and finally heard the cries of the hawk requested to be retrieved in their mission. The bird had gotten caught sometime during their absence in one of Naruto's traps. With the unabashed noises it was now making in its cage, it was a mystery how the team had failed to hear it the day before.

Sasuke looked up at their mentor as he walked his way down a tree, standing parallel to the ground against the pull of gravity. On the jounin's face was a lingering smile that spoke of his approval on the accomplished mission.

"Well… I was expecting the three of you to have to skirt the mountains till after dinner, but I guess we'll be taking the rest of the day off, seeing as we have captured 'Little Prince' already."

He watched the flood of relief and mute joy come over Sakura and Sasuke's faces, while Naruto's cerulean irises held nothing but patient anticipation for the rest of the day's agenda.

"Haaa-naaa… Haaa-naaa. Haa-na." The bird called with a forward stretch of its ruffled-looking head.

Its golden eyes jerked from one shinobi to another before it preened a long beak into its wing feathers and grew quiet.

"Wow, did you hear it? The hawk really does say the princess' name." Sakura pushed her hands to her knees and observed the dark-feathered bird.

"Hana." It trilled in emphasis.

"Sugoi-ne…" Her green irises warmed with a captivated smile.

Sasuke gave her a sideways look, and the sight of the pink-haired girl invited the now-familiar affection.

He was still fighting down the warmth sweeping around his chest when he realized the gray-haired jounin's gaze was also directed at him.

The tensai shifted his face to Kakashi and the condescending apathy settled back into his sharp features.

The jounin's eye closed, refusing to give Sasuke any hint or access to his thoughts.

And then the 27-year-old crossed his arms over his army-green vest and leaned back against a tree.

"Naruto." He called.

At the sound of his name, the genin looked up from the cage with expectant eyes.

"You and Sakura start clearing the nets and traps from the trees."

The jounin looked at Sakura as she stood smoothing her skirt, and the girl gave the teacher a small smile and nod of affirmation while Naruto wordlessly stuck a thumbs-up and flashed his incisors.

The raven-haired boy said nothing, but his onyx eyes narrowed, fastening on the side of the jounin's concealed face.

_He's making me stay. What is he thinking? _

Just as the sentence finished in Sasuke's mind, the gray-haired mentor turned around and evenly tucked one hand in his navy-blue pants. The genin silently watched his teacher shift from one leg to another, almost as if he were uncomfortable standing on forest ground. And then the copy ninja pressed one shoulder against the tree decidedly, finally turning a heavy-lidded eye to his student.

"…Sasuke-…"

"If you have something to say…" the boy's eyes lifted, "just say it, Kakashi."

"I'll talk the way I want to talk." The gray-haired teacher calmly said back. But the tone of authority wasn't lost on the young Uchiha, and the genin wisely settled back with a mute stare.

"About your arm…"

_My arm? _Sasuke thought perplexed. _So this wasn't going to be about Sakura._

"When I said you couldn't use it, I meant it. Simply moving it around when it hasn't completely healed might damage the flow of your chakra system in the future…" The jounin's dark eye peered at him.

"That means a flawed chidori, Sasuke. And not only that… but all your fire techniques, which require hand-seals."

"I know." The boy answered, lowering his head with a hard stare to the blades of grass.

His teacher looked down at his bare arm. "You've removed the make-shift cast…"

"It was irritating me." Sasuke mumbled, "It was itchy."

"You…" Kakashi's gray head lowered, "…were holding Sakura's hand before you entered the restaurant this morning using that arm… that disturbs the healing, no matter how limited the motion is."

The boy's gaze flew to his mentor's face pointedly.

"-But, even if you had used your other hand-" Kakashi quickly admitted with a lifted dull eyebrow, "I do wish to speak to you about your relationship… with her."

The genin's eyes jerked, and Kakashi saw the way his indifference faltered for less than a moment.

"What about it?" The genin finally asked in a low voice.

He watched the jounin sigh and settle back against the tree.

One of Kakashi's gloved hands came up to dig into a vest pocket and the boy's obsidian eyes locked over the bright red book cover he saw being carefully extracted.

_Hnh. I should have seen it coming. _

_He better not be planning to give me one of those pep-_

In a flash, the jounin pushed the Icha-Icha book cover in front of Sasuke's nose so abruptly the genin jump-shifted backwards in a defensive move.

"What are you doing?" The boy blurted - losing the usual certainty in his eyes.

He took another small step back. "…Kakashi-"

"I do feel I've got the timing right. Now, I want you to look carefully, Sasuke." The 27-year-old evenly instructed. And he flipped the book over till the contents of the white pages met with the young Uchiha's slowly widening stare.

Kakashi watched the right to left movement of the boy's eyes as he scanned across the page, observed the changing emotions that skirted across his face.

Sasuke's eyes flew wider open somewhere along the left page and he tore his head away from the book, a rapid blush now bridging along his pale skin.

"Hmm…" Kakashi steadily observed him. "Well, its obvious isn't it? You don't have to tell me anything about your relationship with Sakura… However, if you find yourself getting to _that_ point…" Sasuke saw the jounin's beady eye gesture at the book, "I think it is important that you already be aware of what I am about to tell you."

Sasuke forced down the embarrassment with a careful swallow and finally raised his eyes to the jounin.

"Or rather…" Kakashi's eye crinkled into a half moon, "What I am about to teach you."

The boy blinked hesitantly, and the jounin gave a small, almost awkwardly placed smile.

"Sasuke, if I am going to see a restored Uchiha clan, I want it to be at a point in your life when you can go on an S-class mission alone. When you have enough experience to truly take care of yourself,… understand? You're still young… and it's much too easy to lose yourself in…" the jounin faltered for the right word.

"-in that…moment. To make a mistake. And we don't want to risk that. Please don't misunderstand me.

I'm not placing restrictions on your freedom… But I do think prevention is important… and I think this is an appropriate time to start teaching you about it."

_Prevention?_ … Sasuke's eyes cleared with understanding, _Ah,_ _that kind of prevention._

Strangely, the thought hadn't even occurred to him. And of course he had to learn it – everyone would eventually. Sooner or later it would inevitably be useful…

And even if Sasuke couldn't ever begin to grasp the possibility of a pregnancy on Sakura, even if it felt awkward and ridiculous, the genin saw the serious concern in his mentor's gaze, and knew it was something he needed to know. Something Kakashi thought he was mature enough to learn.

…Something he might have learned differently… If he still had a father.

"Do you… understand what I'm trying to say, Sasuke?"

At the jounin's question, the boy shut his eyes and gave a small nod, forcing down the indignity.

Kakashi was, after all, the closest he had to a father.

"Okay. Now…" The elite jounin lowered with a sigh, "The prevention technique in itself is simple. Look closely at the hand formations I'm about to show you… Also, be aware of the timing…"

Kakashi crouched closer and one silver eyebrow rose significantly. "Timing… is everything."

The genin felt his cheeks blaze and the jounin couldn't help cracking a wry smile.

…

Sakura steadied herself, bracing one leg over the vertical trunk of a tree and gluing another sandal to the branch in front. Naruto slid down a bowed trunk and handed her a ball of rolled-up nets.

"That's all of it, Sakura-chan."

"Ah, great!"

They carefully jump-skipped down the mass of forest and landed with consecutive thumps over the grass.

Sakura rose, holding the balled-up nets. And beside her, Naruto wobbled forward with various traps of different sizes strapped to his body and arms.

The kunoichi looked ahead, spotting their mentor just as he pulled away from the raven-haired genin beside him. "Kakai-sensei! We're done." The girl called out.

"Good." Their sensei gave a nod.

The girl's eyes caught Sasuke's face, and she noticed the slight traces of a blush tainting his cheeks. He looked almost flustered.

But before she could scrutinize further, Kakashi had stepped forward.

"Since we've finished this task earlier than expected, I guess you are free to roam around the festival tonight."

"Festival?!" Naruto asked, jerking his head up with curiosity.

"Ah, yes. The Stone Village celebrates one tonight, in honor of their village demi-god…" The jounin provided with a tempered smile.

"Alright!" The blonde's fist pumped into the air. And he pressed his face closer to Kakashi, crystal eyes glittering with excitement, "Will there be lots of food? And those small booth games, and village people performances on a stage?

"Yes. All that with a display of fireworks."

"Yatta-yatta!! Kakai-senseii…" The blonde squealed, tugging at his teacher's navy-blue sleeve, "Let's go!"

"Sure." Their teacher gave a casual shrug, and then he raised the cage in front of the fox-ninja's face. "-After we bring Princess Hana her pet."

"Ah, right-right!"

The blonde slapped on a responsible face and gave a squint-eyed nod of affirmation.

…

The two Akatsuki members silently stood in the small, humbly-arranged room of the inn.

Kisame lowered the barrel from his shoulders and his inhuman eyes flickered over the circular wooden lid tapered down with cursed paper.

With a swift turn of hand-seal he whispered the dispelling chant and swiped a thumb across the enchanted strips. At his touch, the papers shriveled and fell away from the lid.

Beside Kisame, the older Uchiha closed his eyes, discreetly extracting a small amount of chakra before turning to the blonde girl beside him. Her baby-blue eyes stared past the man and out the window, lifelessly.

Itachi raised his hand, pressing two fingers lightly at the girl's forehead. And after a moment, the woman's eyes glazed over with a barely detectable film of red that quickly disappeared.

"We will be connected… no matter how far away I am." The genjutsu-user whispered into the silence, and he raised his beautiful eyes to the unmoving woman.

"Your role is crucial… Do not fail me."

"Do not fail, Itachi-san." The blonde woman dictated to herself in a numb whisper.

"Ho…" The shark tilted his pale blue head at Itachi, and his teeth meshed together in sharp points.

"How about testing her out right now, Itachi-san."

And with that, the taller Akatsuki member gave the barrel in front of him a graceless kick. The wooden container fell over and one pale, bruised arm spilled out amidst the flow of cascading black hair. The body remained motionless, the sleeping-jutsu taking its time wearing off on the girl.

"Go on… wake our Yume-chan." Kisame's gravelly voice dragged out with sadistic pleasure.

Itachi said nothing.

Did nothing. Only lowered his head.

But a moment afterwards, the blonde snapped forward, almost surprising the shark.

She walked to the barrel, automatically reached down with one hand and pulled at the head of black hair with ruthless strength, dragging the clumps of it forward until Yume's head emerged dropping with a dull thump over the cement floor.

"Wake up, Yume-channn.." the taller Akatsuki member teasingly chortled.

As if the command were a trigger, the blonde's hand came up above her head without so much as a blink of awareness. And then she brought her palm forward, slapping Yume across the jaw so hard her head snapped sideways with a jerk of black hair.

The shark gave a loud menacing bark of laughter, obviously finding sick humor in the sight.

And Itachi's eyes flickered to look down uninterestingly at the head of black, listening to the small gasps of weeping that now floated up above the silence.

She was finally conscious.

And weeping. Again.

Her…? An Uchiha?

No.

She was a pathetic disgrace. A flawed hodge-podge of pseudo clan genes.

Offspring gone wrong that needed to be exterminated.

The almost nauseating disgust and irritation chewed at his insides

And the handsome man closed his eyes and turned away.

"…Take her away from me, before I feel the urge to kill her."

"And where do I take her exactly?" The shark shot back with glistening slivers of eyes.

"Tie her to the chair, as planned. I've already set the genjutsu seals within this room and they should activate flawlessly."

"Then I can start the search for our little vessel." The shark suggested with a rasp.

He flicked a sharp tongue along his pointed teeth and bristled deliciously.

"The Kyuubi's chakra… I feel it even now. It gets me…" His predatory eyes flashed with greed. "… very excited."

"Good." Itachi's voice flowed in soft monotone.

"Use the excitement. Naruto should not be too difficult to manage."

"And what about you…" Kisame glowered, "and your beloved little brother?"

"-It is an entirely different plan that I assure you will not affect this one…" The man's lips parted carefully as he spoke. His glistening black eyes continued to stare forward in thought.

"Ho, and what are you planning to do to little Uchiha-chan." The shark teased with a dark glimmer of pale fish irises.

At the inquiry, the other Akatsuki member's eyes narrowed.

"Something… that is necessary." He stated in cold finality.

Rolling tides of hatred pulled at the man's usually expressionless features and Kisame straightened in interest with a piranha grin.

"Hmm."

--

"So we'll see you at the festival tonight, princess." Kakashi gave a slight bow at the little child sitting along the plump cushions of the castle ground.

She candidly smiled up with tear-stained cheeks, and cradled the cage close to her yellow gown. "Thank you…" the girl gave an ardent whisper, and she peered down with fondness at the hawk.

"You're welcome." Sakura and Naruto provided with happy smiles of their own.

"It's no problem at all." The jounin answered cheerily with a curl of his eye.

"… If you feed it strips of Hamachi, the feathers won't ruffle up as much."

Everyone turned their heads to blink at Sasuke, who was eyeing the ceiling quite interestedly.

He finally looked down and the girl watched his obsidian eyes soften with emotion before he slowly turned away.

"My uncle… was a great lover of birds."

Kakashi turned his pepper head to the boy and gave him a meaningful gaze.

Naruto moved his head past the jounin's vest and peeked at him with interest.

And Sakura pressed closer, brushing a hand discreetly over his with a small smile.

The advisors bowed. And Team seven and its mentor reciprocated the respectful gesture.

"Na,… Sakura-chan! Have you ever tried those apples? The ones they dip in caramel and sell on sticks during the fire-festival?"

"Of course! But my favorites are the candy winter-melons and water-chestnuts."

"Ehh?? That sounds good!!!"

The blonde threw his hands behind his head and looked up at the darkening sky as they walked through the forest on their way back into the village center.

All three genin were in particularly good moods, with Naruto and Sakura chatting meaninglessly as they usually did in between fulfilling the calls of duty. Occasionally, Sasuke would speak about a thing or two and Kakashi would provide to their curious fascination with his bits of useless, but interesting information.

When team seven had first gotten together, it had been nothing but silence during free times of the day. But the experience in the chuunin exams and the forest of death had inevitably constructed a bond between the three students.

Regardless of the many fights and foul-tempered days, there was always, within it, the presence of a ridiculous situation, in which Naruto was almost always involved and after which he usually was none too happy.

At this moment, to pass the time, the team was playing at meaningless banter again.

"Mango."

"Eh? Kakai-sensei likes mangoes?"

"Yes." Their mentor nodded with a smile. "When they're candied, I do prefer them ball-shaped and mixed with strawberries."

Sakura gasped and her eyes scrunched into crinkled beams of sour-sweetness. "auwww, sensei… that sounds yummy."

"Let's hunt for it in the festival later!" Naruto declared with bright blue eyes.

"And…" The fox-ninja threw a careless sideways glance at the raven-haired boy beside Sakura.

"What about you, Sasuke? Your favorite?"

Naruto was only a little surprised when the boy looked at him without a flinch of annoyance in his dark eyes. The blonde ninja even thought he saw a slight bite of interest in the class-rookie's gaze.

"Tomato."

"Tomato?" The blonde wrinkled his nose and raised a light eyebrow.

"Cherry tomatoes… not the dull yellow ones, but the reddish-orange kind… picked fresh, washed and rolled in melting sugar." The boy's low fluid voice murmured into the silence.

"Candy tomatoes?! … Na, Sasuke." Naruto flatly drawled with narrowed blue eyes, "That sounds gross…! You really have bad taste."

"Naruto…" The pink-haired kunoichi was about to cut in with a dangerously sharp reprimand and the gray-haired jounin took the opportunity to quickly throw in instructions.

"-For later, we'll all go our separate ways. If you three want to stick together, that is fine. Just make sure you are all back at the inn by 11 o'clock tonight, so we can start packing. Clear?"

Sakura decidedly closed her mouth and gave a bright nod instead.

"Yosha!" The blonde slurred with a wiggle of feisty eyebrows.

_Tonight,_ Naruto pushed his whiskered smile into his loose neckline, _he was going to have fun. _

--

**Author's Notes:**

**What can I say? Cut down on the smut and get the story going, ne:D**

**I HAVE to apologize for the gruesome way ff'net has displayed my past chapter! I saw it in the live preview and had to stop myself from strangling erm… myself. 0.0" **

**Also for those who didn't receive replies to their comments from me, I've replied to each of you!!! Promise!!! ff'net is just toying again. –sighs-**

**Anyways, hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring!!! . **

**I know last time took me hella looooong, so this chapter I tried to do real fast for you guys! **

**Because I luffyou. –blinks googly-eyes-**

**If you're all riled-up for the coming events, I'd love to know about it! Gimme cookies for more brain power!!! **

–**grins and huggles Keska-kun… drops Keska-kun unceremoniously and huggles Sasuke-kun -**

**Ahhh so faithless. o TOMATOES and SMART CAPTAINS RULE!!!**

**Ps. Actually, during my trip to China, there really were candied cherry tomatoes on barbecue sticks, I had some (because I also love tomatoes) and they tasted AWESOME!!! –screeches-**


	31. TIME

**Author's Notes:**

**Heavy chapter…**

**Because I wrote this with all my heart. And I'm hoping it will get through to you… :)**

CHAPTER 31

**

* * *

6:15pm**

Naruto stepped sideways as a small child darted past him and he raised his head, blue crystal eyes widening at the sudden burst of activity in the village square.

There were families everywhere - milling about, laughing and pointing at the different, brightly-colored booths litering the grounds. Paper lantern balloons rose into the wind hovering high over the town, sharing the darkening night sky with rice-paper kites of every size and shape.

The air was dominated by the unique sounds of village instruments, and torches lit all corners of the dark wooden walkways as street performers mingled and dipped into the crowds.

"Yaaaattaa!" The fox-ninja gave an overly-grating screech of excitement and threw his hands above his head with a pumping leap. "There must be a hundred things to do in a place like this na-… NA, Sakura-cheaan!"

Beside the grinning blonde, the kunoichi had just recovered from the burst of flurry and overwhelming atmosphere, she turned her bright green eyes to Naruto, pushed her hands together and gave an enthusiastic nod as she forced her voice out against the high-tides of noise.

"We should start moving around now, if we want to see everything before 11 o clock, ne?"

The girl wrapped herself around the crook of Sasuke's arm and nuzzled into his collar with a happy, mellowing smile. The comforting softness of his shirt, the warmth of his body heat, even the feathery brush of raven hair against her cheek, evoked the girl's sigh against his shoulder.

Sasuke stirred and he looked down at her. At the spread of beautiful eyelashes and the quaint bridge of nose, at her look of utter contentment just clinging to him.

How could he have found the very same gesture all those months ago, irritating?

He took a deep breath, and the familiar smell greeted him, of sweet lingering cherry blossoms and lavender in her hair… the indescribable lure of her lightly fragrant skin. He loved the way she smelled.

Sasuke breathed her in, and he felt, strangely at just about the same time, the sudden need, so overwhelming and great… to wrap his whole self around her, spend each slipping moment protecting her, to step closer and closer because he found now, that it almost stung if she wasn't there…

This was where Sakura had unknowingly brought him.

To a point that he understood what those lovers always seemed to say: How they couldn't bear the loneliness, being without each other.

And, of course, he would never allow himself to say it.The boy's mouth curled.

_But… _

_That is, surprisingly, the truth._

How he'd managed all those years hating, being alone… prioritizing his selfishness, and jumping at every chance to be superior, how he had been addicted to power beyond even Naruto…

Now, his old person had become too foreign, he couldn't understand it.

And now, because of her, he understood everyone else perfectly.

His eyes fawned over the shadowed pink hair before he raised his eyes mutely to Kakashi.

The jounin gave a smile and closed his eye with a sigh.

"The three of you deserve this break from duties. Now, enjoy the night and have fun."

The mentor gave his students one final wave, and stuffed his hands lazily into his pockets as he disappeared into the throngs of people.

**

* * *

6:15 pm**

Crimson lashed out at the wind, as the ANBU captain landed with a soft thud. The red bandana tied to his arm rustled as he lifted from the ground, and he gave his headset a flick.

"Lilac, Oxy… current coordinates?"

"Uh… did you say coordinates, sir? Well, we've just passed a huge boulder… with the stream beside it. We're nearing the earth border I think, the one near the abandoned cottage, I think this is…-"

"How 'bout I do you a favor and bring a bullhorn next time? That way, it'll be easier to announce our location to the rest of the world- for god's sake, man, why in shitards do you think we have specific codes?? In an open area like this anyone could be listening in!"

Keska suppressed the urge to slap a hand over his face. Instead he took it out on a decaying tree-stump, hearing the splintering wood and uttering a mute curse. After a moment, the captain gathered himself and spoke into the mic again.

"…I've taught you both mere basics. Basic equals simple. Lemme repeat - we go by ANBU code with this radio. Utilize the vocabulary: 'Affirmative', 'Negative', 'Roger,' 'OVER' … - your chances of getting into the team… 'OVER' - if you fuck this mission up. Clear?"

"Clear-Ah-Rogerover!" Daisuke bit out with crackling static.

"Sorry." Atom interjected in a low voice.

"I don't need an apology…" the ANBU commander sighed and furrowed his eyebrows. "I need commitment, and for god'sakes bring it, Intelligence. Now, on that specific-slash-idiotic declaration of coordinates: 'Location noted.' Verify your arrival at our destined meeting area, which should be in the next hour - And here comes your captain's jackhammer, pound it in dolts – Use. The damn. Codes. – OVER."

"Roger." Both jounin responded.

Keska lowered his mic and peered past the trees and into the Earth's gate.

One last border – hail kaima's-ass, it paid to be speedy.

And his two recruits? He'd have to wait for them, before finally, that lovely entourage into Stone.

Hopefully, with no further complications or idiotic slip-ups.

The commander unzipped his backpack and extracted a long, red cloak. He whipped off the tiger mask slung around his neck and tossed it into the knapsack, unsnapped his gray ANBU vest and pulled off his gloves, he slipped his small katana into its holster and then threw the robe around him with quick ease.

The cloak rustled as he pulled the hood down over his head. And then, a thumb came across the mic in his headset, pressing it closer to his stubbled chin.

"Tiger entering terrain 2. And- dolts…" the captain's voice grew gruff, "For this mission's sake, stay alive."

With a whip of scarlet and leaves, Keska had disappeared, making his way across Earth.

**

* * *

6:15 pm**

The pasty-skinned predator crossed his arms and rose to his full towering height. His silver irises glinted as he scanned the room with a brilliantly devilish smile.

"I believe, we are all set, Itachi-san." He stated smugly.

Beside him, the sharingan-user shifted his nose past the unfamiliar material of his dawned black robe and his eyes peeked out from under delicately feathered eyelashes as he appeared to ponder in thought.

As always, in quietly subdued calm.

"I've given the possibilities of Hatake escaping considerable thought…" his fine eyebrows drew together.

"But we can only prepare for so many of those possibilities. We've done all we can without drawing unnecessary attention…" Itachi admittedly murmured.

His black eyes flickered around the room, observing the curses tapered to the four corners above their heads, the woman tied to the chair in the corner and the blonde innocent, standing relatively calm and emotionless - completely under his control. Her hands clutched at two glistening swords of identical length and appearance. Wholly fatal and painfully sharp, long enough to cut across a head, and slim enough to hide.

The set-up was the best they could possibly make it.

"Unless an unexpected interruption should occur, it is a guarantee that they will not survive this…" The genjutsu-user predicted with a flicker of narrowed eyes to the cement floor. And then he looked ahead, catching the stare of his blonde puppet: An unblinking look just as empty as his own.

His eyes moved over her face with surprising gentleness - a silent caress of parting.

"Do what is expected of you, and your death will not be a useless one." The man dipped his words into the black material of the cloak as he regarded her.

"What is expected of me… My death… not useless…." She duly repeated in an abandon of emotion. Her hands rose and she stiffly tucked both blades into the folds of her kimono, concealing the intention with her over-all appearance - the helpless innocence of common-folk.

"Then shall we begin?" The shark's voice rose ardently, almost excitedly as he whipped his blue head to his partner.

"Hmm of course…" Itachi closed his eyes. "…I, for one, am not holding you back."

"If it concerns Kyuubi, nobody… can hold me back." Kisame said, as a grotesque twist of hunger molded his pale lips.

**

* * *

6:30 pm**

Naruto skipped past a steaming peanut stand to inspect the red booth next to it.

Along the booth's edges, large, stuffed animals were strewn.

The smallest being a series of ridiculous-looking blue donkeys with over-sized front teeth.

Beside the small prizes came the slightly larger ones, dogs that strangely reminded Naruto of Kiba's faithful companion, Akamaru, with the squinting eyes and large glowering flash of sharp teeth. And the largest stuffed-toys - first prize, Naruto assumed, tacked high above the arc of the sign that read "Spinning target: Dart it". These were fluffy pink and purple bears - large enough to throw a leg over when sleeping at night, and adorable enough for him to win for Sakura-chan.

"Na," the blonde whipped around, startling the girl beside Sasuke with a whiskered grin. "Do you want that, Sakura-cheean?"

The girl blinked and turned her head up, following Naruto's pointed finger to a large pink bear hammered over one post of the booth.

"Naruto…." The girl turned to him with an insulted eyebrow, "Are you saying I can't win one for myself?" She pushed a hand to her waist.

"Ah?" The blonde settled back with a confused squint. "I wasn't saying that at all!"

"What Naruto means is, it's not the same… to have someone win a prize for you, instead of you getting one for yourself."

Sasuke said, eyeing the booth with just the slightest traces of interest, observing the turning dartboards inside.

Mentally, he counted the targets. There were 15 in all. Three spinning dartboards with 5 targets in each. He gauged the distance and lowered his eyes to the quality of the darts in the basket in front of him. There on the table were the instructions.

**Use 4 darts. Hit a target on each of the 3 moving dartboards** **in one throw, and win first prize.**

To a civilian, it was almost impossible. But to a ninja…

_Hn. Fairly easy._

"Well…" Sakura started, pushing an index finger to her lower lip as she pondered, "I guess the bears are cute. Okay!" She turned to Naruto with a smile. "I'd love one!"

"Yosha!" The blonde grinned, bristling with anticipation.

He was gonna show Sakura-chan, just how much he improved over-

"Save your money… dobe."

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes met with a flash of dueling obsidian.

_Eh?_

The fox-ninja looked down, seeing the darts already in Sasuke's hand.

Another pointed dart shifted between Sasuke's lips as he gave an arrogant smirk. Then, the boy held up his hands, eyeing the spinning boards attentively, fixing his stance with a slight shift of feet. He focused.

Get the timing right. Aim with accuracy.

Hit three moving targets with just one throw.

The man behind the booth crossed his arms and gave a condescending smile.

Sasuke ignored him. Raised his wrists, considered the three dartboards, mentally counted.

_2… _-There.

_1…- _He saw an opening.

_Now!_

He hurled at the targets.

Four darts shot out. Three from his hands, one from his mouth.

The first slammed into the left dartboard, hitting a target smack in the middle.

The second one flew towards the rightmost dartboard, smashing past another dart and pushing it off the board. Bull's-eye.

The third was careening off course…

Until the dart thrown from Sasuke's mouth collided into it, tapping it back to the center.

It slammed into the dart-board. At the very edge of the smallest target.

"Bull's eye." Sakura declared with wide eyes. "Sugeh, Sasuke-kun!!!"

The boy looked side-ways at Naruto's squinted stare. And the blonde almost saw a smile.

"Hah! Don't get too arrogant, teme. How about another game?" The fox-ninja snarled with a glint of burning cobalt.

"Fine." The boy shrugged, taking the first-prize bear from the gaping man behind the booth.

He turned to Sakura and wordlessly held out the pink stuffed animal.

To his surprise, the girl crossed her arms instead.

"I never said you should give me one, Sasuke-kun."

"Huh."

"Huh?!"

Sasuke's reaction was more a statement.

Naruto's was declared in surprise.

"Naruto offered to get me the prize… he asked me if I wanted one, and that's what matters." she smiled at the blonde ninja and then looked back at Sasuke with raised eyebrows, "You can't just hand one over and expect a girl to take it."

The raven-haired boy blinked.

In truth, Sasuke _was_ expecting for the kunoichi to just accept it. Because in all the time he'd known her, she'd been that way – Taking every little thing he pushed to her, from bruising kisses to hurtful remarks with nothing but a submissive smile of acceptance.

Well apparently, Sakura wasn't one to be stepped on. And the boy realized that if she wanted to decline him, she surprisingly could.

He drew back, noting the odd stir of emotion inside him – was it shock? A bit of indignance? Amusement and even admiration?

Every molecule of his mind told him to rear up in defense to her. Remain stubborn and insist on his own way. Like always.

But it was different. Because his heart knew her now, connected to her selflessly, felt for her, wanted never to hurt her.

Naruto's eyes jerked when he saw the tensai-rookie raise his head. The blonde expected an icy glare of defiance, maybe a casual shrug of 'whatever,' anything but the look he saw on Sasuke's face.

Hesitant shadows came over the boy's features, and he struggled for a moment as if he were in internal battle.

"…It's for you." Sasuke finally pushed out, and his cheeks lowered with traces of heat.

"I won it… -… for you."

Naruto's eyes almost popped -

Seeing the unfamiliar, poise-shattering gesture. His shoulders slung forward in shock, and he barely recovered to close his mouth. It was unbelievable, how much he couldn't recognize his friend and rival. A moment ago, the Uchiha had been acting exactly the way Naruto had always known him. But in a split-second, he'd completely changed!

The blonde straightened in time to see the girl reach forward for the stuffed toy.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She whispered with a winning smile. And her emerald irises disappeared charmingly into half-moons of eyelashes.

Then the fox-ninja's lower jaw had plummeted again. Because the girl leaned in, with one hand clutching the won prize and another pressing light to Sasuke's collar.

She tilted her jaw and gave the boy a lingering kiss to the mouth.

At the sight, Naruto's stark-blue eyes widened considerably.

And then the shock came.

He hadn't been prepared this time. And he realized, that perhaps he'd never be prepared at all.

"Hn…" It came out a breathless sigh.

Sasuke licked idly at his lip. And then the rookie closed his eyes and lowered his head with a tiny smile that disappeared into his collar.

How his teammate managed such composure, Naruto didn't know. It wasn't like the fox-ninja was hell-bent on finding out anyway because he was much too busy minding the sharp stabs of pain threatening inside him.

Flashes of Hinata entered his mind, and the confusing feelings came again.

Could he really imagine doing the same to the Hyuuga?

The boy thought about it, conjuring up the soft traces of the girl's shy smile, her transluscent eyes and whispered voice. He thought about Hinata, and how she would press forward with a hesitant waver, how he would have to lean in first, because she was much too flustered to initiate anything. How he would close the gap of emptiness between them and finally feel her tender warmth. And how the Hyuuga's mouth must feel pressed to his own–

Without knowing it, Naruto's eyes closed and his face scrunched up almost painfully.

It didn't feel right at all.

"Naruto?"

Sakura's voice forced his blurry cerulean eyes open and the blonde raised his face to look at her.

The girl had her eyebrows furrowed in worry, and she leaned forward, pink strands slipping unawares across her cheek. "Na… you don't look well, are you feeling okay?"

Tides of clear blue rose, gazing into her questioning green eyes, and the fox-ninja looked at her, blinking in the curves of her face.

And he remembered… all the times he'd entered the classroom from the back door, just so he could pass by her table near the aisle. How many lunches and recesses he'd skipped, saving his money, hoping she would finally say 'yes' to him, to just one meal together.

The chosen hours of the day that he passed silent corridors alone, only to see her curled into a corner, reading a multitude of scrolls. How he pretended not to care about studying, teased her bookishness and laughed whenever she'd start screaming at him. But then… how he secretly admired her intelligence, her perseverance…

How he loved her.

Naruto bit back the tightening of his heart with a swallow.

Noone could replace Sakura, he realized.

Noone.

…Not even Hinata.

"Oi! Baka." The pink-haired girl teased and her fist landed playfully rough over the blonde's head. "A-! Ouch…" The boy closed one eye from the slight sting and gave her a hesitant squint, "Sakura-chan,…" he started, "it…-" His voice trailed off, and the fox-ninja lowered his eyes as his next words struck him, grinding with stark bitterness. "…It… hurts." He finally whispered.

At his tone of voice, Sakura's grin disappeared and she pulled her hand to her collar, stepping back with concern.

Next to the kunoichi, the raven-haired boy lifted his head. And seeing the expression of unconcealable pain on Naruto's face, his onyx gaze soon dropped to the ground.

_So… I was right. _Sasuke looked distractedly at a pebble near his foot.

_Naruto still likes Sakura. _

It was wrong to believe the idiot when he said he "liked Hinata," but eitherway, the raven-haired boy knew the events between Sakura and him that led to this point were irreversible. Sasuke could force himself to do anything if he wished.

Anything…

Except - give up Sakura.

He exhaled quietly and stuffed his hands into his pockets, choosing to keep a careful silence instead.

"Ah!" The sudden rise of voice forced Sasuke's head up.

Naruto's wide stare was riveted towards a booth somewhere to the far left.

"I know it, I know it! Those are definitely candy apples!" The blonde gave a delighted laugh and pushed his hands to his spiky head. "I'm gonna go get some-"

"Naruto…" The girl softly called to him.

"Mm?..." the fox-ninja turned a betrayingly happy face at her, "Do you want some too, Sakura-chan?"

"Ah…" Sakura decidedly felt bad for him, and she forced cheerfulness. "I'd love some."

The ninja gave her a small, whiskered smile. One that said he was finally gonna stop dreaming, and hoping and wishing. A smile that told her he was letting her go.

"Then…" his blue eyes softened, "Ask teme to get you some."

And before the kunoichi could think of what to say, Naruto had thrown one careless hand up and dashed off into the crowd, leaving them both alone again.

Silence passed, until…

"Sasuke-kun…"

The boy looked down at the girl as she stepped closer to him. Her eyes continued to blink in the direction Naruto had gone, and he noticed the startling moistness quivering over the seas of green.

_Oh no._

"I know what it's like…" she whispered, "to love someone… and get nothing in return."

The kunoichi had been feeling exactly the same way about Sasuke before all of this had happened.

Her hands bunched into his sleeve and she turned her gaze up to him as a tear streaked down her cheek. "Naruto, he…"

"-Still likes you." Sasuke finished for her. "You should have known."

"I didn't think he was serious..." The girl whispered, "Is there even anything we can do about it?"

"Stop crying…" The boy saw a strand of pink against her nose, and he mutely brushed it away, "Because Naruto won't like seeing that."

He blinked and his onyx eyes wavered over her face. "I… don't like seeing that."

The girl pressed against his sleeve for a moment, blinking into the blue cotton in silence.

And the boy gave her the time she needed, gathering his own thoughts as they stood.

After a while, she shifted against him and he looked down.

Sakura wore her bright smile, the very one Sasuke liked most - with all the gentle tenderness and love that made her green, moist eyes soften.

He knew she wasn't just smiling for him…

Sasuke knew that it was for Naruto as well.

**

* * *

8:00 pm**

The figure draped in a red cloak pushed away from the stone wall, and he whipped the hood off his head, showing the shocks of brown hair and a serious honey-colored stare.

One hand moved underneath the robe to turn off the headset, as he regarded the two shadowed jounins in front of him.

"The mission officially starts now. I've checked the directions leading to the inn where Hatake is staying – that's where we're heading right now. Daisuke, lose the farmer's hat, you look too damn conspicuous. Atom… kaima's ass you're just so freakin' tall and wide and every-which-way-in-domination, can you turn into a metal wagon?"

The larger jounin's beady eyes widened, insulted. "No sir, I don't think I can." he dragged out.

The captain gave him a pat to the back and sighed, "Worth a try asking anyway. Okay!...Daisuke…?"

"Sir." The jounin turned his large purple eyes at the captain in attention as he lowered his hat.

"See anything?"

"No signs of bull-fucks, captain. The place is clean."

"And that's what makes it exciting." Keska grinned. He threw his spiky head sideways and stuck a thumb out towards the village entrance.

"Let's move."

**

* * *

8:00 pm**

Naruto took a bite into the caramel frost and into the crunching softness of apple.

The sweetness mixing with the twinging sour suited his mood perfectly.

He wasn't expecting to spend the night alone like this. Even if there were a million distractions in every direction and the blonde was far from bored. He'd already learned how to play the basic notes of a stone village flute from one of the musicians, taken a pot-belly pig ride across a bumpy course, played a couple of games and won some money. Naruto briefly reminded himself to hide the jackpot in a separate purse, because perverted hermit sensei had a way of locating his frog wallet wherever he concealed it.

At the moment, the blonde was seated, recovering from a thespian's satirical play, which surprisingly enough managed to make him laugh despite the somber state he was in.

But this feeling…

The blonde's hand came up to clutch at the orange material of his jacket.

It never made him numb.

Even if he'd felt it his whole life. And even if it was worse before he'd graduated from the academy…

It was still as painful and insistent as ever.

The loneliness.

…

"Naruto…"

_Huh?_

_A voice._

The fox ninja's eyes flickered and he raised his head from his apple, scanning the moving crowd.

To the left, a couple was swinging their child. The small boy laughed, jostling his stick puppet in the air. To the right, a group of hollering red-faced men raising their cups to a toast. And amidst all this, a throng of walking, skipping and laughing people.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed and he gave an inward shrug, holding the half-consumed apple up to his lips. He was about to take a bite when his cobalt gaze settled over one man, only because everything else was in motion, and he was the only one standing dead-still, just a little way in front.

Naruto gave a comical squint.

Was the man looking at him? It appeared as if he were.

The blonde saw a glint of red, and suddenly a feeling came over him, one he couldn't describe as anything good. Then again, he was in a foul mood to begin with anyway.

The thought left him and as he continued to blink ahead the genin realized after a split second, that the man was gone.

_Hmm, hmmmm…- _"-Naruto."

"Uwa-Ah!!!" The orange-clad ninja almost fell off the log he was sitting over, hearing the sudden pip of the voice beside him.

The clumsy boy quickly regained balance and whipped sideways, only to see Kakashi looking at him, already seated on the log. "Kakai-sensei!?"

"Where..." came the jounin's monotone voice, "are your two teammates?"

"Ah? I don't-"

"Are they anywhere nearby?"

Naruto looked at his mentor and only saw the flat, bored look that was typical of the man.

"I don't know. I'm pretty far from where I left them a while ago, Kakai-sensei."

"Come with me. I want to show you something." The jounin quickly said, closing his eye and pushing up from the log beside the genin.

"Something to show me? Naha-naaa, sensei…" The blonde lowered his stick of apples and gave a slight grin. "Is this a new technique? Because you sound very serious."

"Yes. A new technique." The jounin stated as he waited patiently for the genin to rise.

Naruto finally did quite abruptly, and his eyes widened in glimmers of teal.

"Sensei…! You're really going to teach me a new technique?? Is it…Chidori?"

"I'll show you..." Kakashi smiled, "I'm planning to bring you to the forest, where there's lots of room to practice."

It was almost too good to be true. Too easy. And just a bit off-timing.

_Wow, Kakai-sensei must be in a really, really good mood. _Naruto thought, and then the excitement spiraled from his chest and he gave a brilliant grin.

"Alright! I can't wait."

The gray-haired man tilted down at him with a grin.

And the fox-ninja followed his mentor, as the man led him away from the crowd.

**

* * *

8:00 pm**

Sasuke looked up from the small wooden toys on the counter of the booth as the curtains lifted.

And his heart did what he didn't think it could until he met her. A little flip that hurtled tight into his throat, which made it feel as if he wouldn't be able to speak.

"It's a bit long, I don't know if it it's…-"

Sakura's voice trailed off and she looked up at the boy with her large, beautiful eyes.

"What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Think. He knew well how to think. Before she'd emerged wearing this, he had been thinking just fine. But the gray silk of the kimono pressed with complement in all the right places, shining in the low light of the white lanterns. The collar with small floral peach blossoms arched neatly over the curve of her graceful neck, and the way her silky, pink hair was now held up in a tangled bundle, with loose strands of it hanging over the curves of her petite features…

She looked entirely different, in such a surprising way.

He couldn't think of anything much. Except…

"You…-"

That was all the words he could form. And in such a low murmur, Sakura couldn't have heard it.

She gave a perfect twirl just like all girls managed to do, with such elegance. And her eyes lowered to the fine material that held her. "I think you like it."

Sasuke blinked as a stray raven lock slipped over one eye, "It looks… good." He finally settled.

"Good?" the girl asked with wide eyes. She inched closer to him and cracked a charming smile. "Come on, Sasuke-kun… you've never seen me wear a silk kimono. Is that really all you're going to say?"

And for some reason, he made up his mind, to say what it was he really thought of her.

What he'd been thinking, this whole night as she walked with him and over the past few weeks.

"…You're… beautiful." Sasuke said. And his gray eyes fell to the ground.

The girl was surprised - even more so when he suddenly looked at her with his familiar expression of distemper.

"It's obvious you like it… so I'm buying it for you."

Her face lit up with a smile, and she turned around to take something from the table.

"I saw this, and thought it would look nice on you. Plus…" she stuck a bit of tongue out and squinted, "there's a discount if you do."

He narrowed his gaze and eyed the yukata she was holding out.

This one was midnight blue silk, with a large outline of two white cranes bowing to each other in majestic grace across the opening. The girl spread the material over the arch of his shoulders and Sasuke looked at her uneasily.

"Wear it!" Sakura almost squealed, and the boy thought he saw a glimpse of what she had been like at the academy.

He smirked.

"And then…" her green eyes looked up at him, "we should watch the fireworks."

As if on cue, the vendor held out his hand in anticipation, and the boy turned sideways at the man. Sasuke sighed, closed his eyes and fished a bill from his pocket. He mutely handed it to the villager, who gave him a bow of thanks.

No sooner had he done a slight version of the same gesture was Sakura already shoving him into the dressing room.

--

After a minute, he'd adjusted the obi over his male kimono and turned away from the full-length mirror.

"Ahhh, Sasuke-kuuuun…" The girl crooned when he gingerly stepped out from behind the curtains.

He gave the yukata another ruffle and looked up at her.

"I was right." Sakura pushed a hand to her mouth, strangling the unstoppable grin.

The boy's skin contrasted nicely to the navy blue, and the white traces drawn along the cloth emphasized his smooth paleness. Even the sketched birds of grace seemed to come to life, with a lowered dip of their magnificent necks – bowing to his quiet beauty.

The raven locks brushed languidly along his jaw as he turned to face her and he gave an adorably concentrated frown amidst the crest of his spiking dark hair.

_Hot._ Sakura thought, rising with a larger grin and a maddening blush.

_I've known it for so long. But, gods… Sasuke-kun is hot._

"When my mom sees this…" She shook her head and buried a smile into one of her loose sleeves.

"I'm not gonna wear a kimono to your house, Sakura."

She gave a slight pout and then reached out to the collar along his neck. "It's not a kimono, it's a yukata. And guys wear it all the time."

He watched her resolute features as she adjusted the silk over his chest and brushed bits of stray thread away. Her palms pressed to his shoulders with finality and she gave a slow nod as her eyes roamed him.

"You look perfect, Sasuke-kun." She murmured knowingly.

He studied her soft lips and the way the corners curled up in a satisfied smile.

And his throat tightened.

"I'll keep it on…" he whispered, "…if you do the same."

"In that case, I'll wear it all night." Sakura stated, and she traced the bridge of his nose idly, with a gentle shine of green irises.

"Hot." Sasuke suddenly said.

"Hmm?" She shifted in question - thinking for a moment, that he'd heard her earlier thoughts.

"The kimono and all the people…" Sasuke said in an odd breath of sound. "It's too warm here."

His hand found hers. "Let's walk."

--

The two genin followed the dark path that branched away from the square, until the torches that rose over their heads disappeared and the only light that flooded the grassy sides and the narrow road came from the ethereal glow of the moon and stars.

Occasionally he came first, to step into shadowed parts of the path before he led her forward, but most of the way, they'd walked side-by-side – not with her hand holding firm to his, but with their hands entwined… together.

Both of them finally stopped when they reached the grove of trees that ended the path and started the forest ahead. And when Sakura stepped away, the boy was only too aware of the noticeable absence.

"Ah, ..Look…!"

Sakura's voice was a hushed gasp. As if she didn't want to disturb the calm sway of the wind. Sasuke turned to where the girl was focused, and he saw it.

- Fireflies, maybe a dozen, blinking with mute flashes around chosen patches of grass.

The girl walked forward into the meadow - discreet in her movement and respectful in distance. Her silhouette captured the glow of the moon as she tucked her arms around her knees and lowered into the grass. Around her legs, the silver kimono stretched out in a graceful display of material.

"Sasuke-kun…" She called softly to him. And her hand reached out to touch distractedly at space as she continued to stare at the sight.

It must have been the tone of her voice, or the comforting fact that she wanted him there with her.

Sasuke came forward, carefully stepping over jutting stones and wet mildew until he fell to a hovering stand-still beside her.

And then the girl looked up at him.

And Sasuke remembered that one night… when the kunoichi had asked him if he wanted to accompany her on a mission with Lee.

When he had first seen the stars reflecting off her eyes… he had felt nothing then.

But now, with the lights dancing off the flecks of green, it suddenly jumped out at him. Everything she was.

He lowered to the grass unthinkingly, feeling a need to stay close to Sakura.

Because everyday, he saw something different. And everyday, he wanted more and more.

He looked at her. At the gentle smile on her face as her gaze followed the fairy-lights hovering in front of them, and he didn't care if what she saw was a different beauty.

He knew he was seeing something better.

They continued to sit in silence, feeling no need to fill the quiet gaps, with the girl occasionally reaching forward towards a straying circle of light, and the boy simply watching.

"Sasuke-kun?" the girl's gentle voice settled into the silence.

"Mm…"

"Do I help you… to forget… what it was like?"

He blinked into the grass as the wind brushed at his dark locks.

"What do you mean?"

"Everytime I'm with you…" she shifted an arm and squinted at him, "Do I help you forget the loneliness?"

Sasuke lowered his head.

_The loneliness… _

_His solitude…_

He didn't feel it anymore – all the years bearing the weight of it… the sense that he was alone, thinking nobody could understand him…

_Did she help him forget all those days and nights when he saw, dreamt of nothing but sadness, felt nothing but anger…_

"…Yes." His response came and his obsidian gaze softened as he watched the swaying trees.

She'd taken the loneliness away.

All of it.

She had changed him.

And suddenly that one moment in the groves felt different. The rustling sounds of the trees, and the smell of damp grass, the broad blankets of darkness and the multitude of stars above them…

And Sakura…

The boy's eyes moved over her face. She blinked back, suddenly aware of the changes herself.

He was pressed so close to her, their kimonos touched.

She watched the splay of light coming over the planes of his skin while one side of his face lay in shadow.Saw the way his clear dark eyes reflected the yellow fireflies below and the starry skies above. And how the intimacy was now heightening, enveloping them both…

How time seemed to stop so suddenly…

Right in that moment…

Sasuke's hand rose to touch at her temple, and his eyes spoke a million words he couldn't say all at once.

With just her.

Just being here with her.

She blinked at him in the darkness. He gazed back.

A whistle shot above the grounds, followed by a loud explosion and the girl turned her face away from his touch, up to the sky as a shower of light green bathed the night in glimmering brightness.

And as Sasuke saw the touches of her beautiful smile dimming in the glow of the fireworks, he knew…

He knew the words to say.

**

* * *

8:40 pm**

"Excuse me."

The jounin moved his eye sullenly away from the page of the magazine in his hands. And he pulled back a step from the small bookstore booth, turning around to the appearance of a small woman draped in a beautiful, long kimono.

Her blonde hair fell loose along her shoulders as she looked up at him with large eyes of clear baby-blue. "Are you Hatake Kakashi?"

His eyebrows drew together, and he placed the magazine back into its rack as he faced her.

"Yes. And you are…?"

"I suspect you've been looking for one of your students?" she asked in a formal tone that didn't at all fit right with the rest of her appearance. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto?"

_Searching for Naruto? _The jounin wondered. _Was he even missing?_

_Though, come to think of it, _Kakashi realized, _Sasuke and Sakura were together just a moment ago… and they had been without him._

A feeling brushed across his departing senses and he straightened from its terrifying weight.

This… It was happening again - that nagging, fleeting burst of slight panic that spoke of things being wrong, turning for the worse… The sixth sense that was always right.

_Could it be Naruto? _

The shinobi's face remained expressionless, without a hint of his unsettling thoughts and he turned to the blonde girl with a tilt of his pepper hair and a gloved hand thrown over it.

"I'm sorry, miss. Has my student been causing you trouble? I left him roaming the festival grounds… But you mention it now, that I should be looking for him…?" his eye shifted, and he looked the blonde girl over, "Please… do explain."

"I was on my way to my room… and there in the hallway, I saw your student. He said his name – Uzumaki Naruto, and started complaining of a headache, I believe… So I've let him into my room."

Kakashi settled back with a concerned blink.

_A headache? Could it possibly be an onset of trauma from his fall? _

_When only a few moments ago the boy had been fine…_

"He mentioned your name as well: Hatake Kakashi. And the boy described your appearance with a request – asking me to look for you." The girl straightened and her face slowly glanced up at him.

"To me, the boy seemed in need of immediate attention."

Kakashi continued to stare at the woman, and his mind worked ceaselessly to pinpoint what it was that was wrong.

_Naruto isn't at all like this. The boy was too proud to ever admit anything was wrong with him. He'd always remained independent. Strong enough to stand on his own. Naturally, the boy would figure out a way to solve his own problem, if he had one. _

Kakashi's eye lowered in mute contemplation.

"You say he is in your room?" The jounin asked again. His eyebrow gave a furrowed wrinkle of confusion. "Please excuse my manners… What floor did you say were you on?"

"Just one floor below. Room 115."

_For this woman to know team seven stayed on the second floor… Naruto must have told her their room number. However, the boy would have more rationally gone straight to the room, rather than talked to a random woman down the hall. _

_Could he have been in that much pain? _The jounin thought, incredulously.

_To not even manage a single flight of stairs… Perhaps, Naruto had lost the room keys and decided to ask the first person he saw for help? _

The jounin couldn't imagine the desperation of this situation matching up to the blonde's trademark personality. And in how the girl phrased everything… the irregularities only jumped out.

If the woman spoke truth… then perhaps that 'headache' was something more than serious… Because the boy's behavior wasn't at all like his usual.

"... I see." Kakashi opted to answer in a mild tone, though his eye carefully regarded her.

Yes, he would have to be cautious.

After his neglect of Sasuke during the time of Itachi's visit, the jounin had promised himself never to take instinct lightly again.

"Hatake Kakashi. Come with me, please." She automatically said, turning around without so much as a backward glance – and walking towards the rise of town buildings away from the festival grounds.

Kakashi didn't like how the woman said his name, found a chilling undertone to her voice… Something was odd about her and the jounin couldn't quite place it.

After all, he had the fact to consider that he knew nothing about this woman. Her seemingly mechanical actions could, in actuality, be just a queer part of her.

_Still, this woman hasn't even bothered to give me a name._

The jounin's eye narrowed, though he just as abruptly concealed his suspicion, because the girl had now turned around to look at him.

The jounin watched her lips twist upward in the makings of a smile that didn't have a trace of genuine happiness or tact. "I'm sure… Naruto will be glad to see you."

A sudden burst of explosion racked the sky, and Kakashi turned his head up to see the sparkles of emerald green spreading along the stars.

The fireworks had started.

He looked to the girl in front of him. And the unsettling feeling intensified when he saw that she had not even bothered to look at the attractive display above the grounds.

Instead, the girl turned around and continued walking.

"Please, let's not waste a moment. Your student is waiting."

Kakashi studied her. And as she turned back around, he formed the conclusion with finality. _Something most certainly isn't the way it should be._

Wordlessly, the jounin tucked his gloved hands into his pockets, and after a moment he followed in wary silence.

**

* * *

8:40 pm**

"Sensei! Oi!"

Naruto cupped his hands to his whiskered cheeks, calling out to his gray-haired mentor. "Kakai-sennnseeiii!"

But the man seemed not to hear him. He proceeded to walk with forceful steps further and further into the forest.

What was it with his teacher? He hadn't even turned around to explain anything at all.

Naruto focused at the shifting shadows draping across his teacher's back as they continued walking in slow, grating silence.

_That's it. Kso- I'm fed up with this. _

The blonde pushed out an indignant scowl and stalked forward to yank at his teacher.

He opened his mouth to give another screech and balled a fist.

"SENS-! A- …!"

The blonde almost slammed into the jounin's vest when the man had suddenly stopped walking. And the aggravated fox-ninja took a step backwards with an irritated growl.

"Na- Kakai-sensei!" he hollered, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. "Have you gone deaf?? Why do we have to walk this far off anyway? It's not as if people will want to come in here while there's a festival… and it's…" the blonde's voice trailed off as his blue eyes flickered around, suddenly aware of the menacing shadows.

"…It's really dark in here."

"Yes… dark isn't it?" came the jounin's odd voice.

Naruto raised his eyebrows at the fluctuating tone that almost teetered towards a low growl, and his blue eyes rose, meeting with the red spiral across the back of the shinobi's vest.

He was only a little frightened. The stubborn ninja fought the fear and he crossed his arms, even as he swallowed, forcing down the steady rise of his heartbeat.

"I don't like it, when it's too dark."

"But I do."

And the jounin turned around with a flashing glint of silver eyes amidst the shadows.

Naruto's cobalt stare widened as he looked up at the face of the man. Still Kakashi's own, but bone-chillingly different – because the lips under the mask had twisted into a menacing grin that the fox-ninja never saw from the 27-year-old jounin.

_What?!_

He took a step back as the immediate surroundings rippled with conflicting blurs of leaves and branches that didn't fit together. The dark greens and browns overlapped and wavered, and soon, the mirage-like formations had slipped over his mentor's gray hair.

The genin couldn't say anything, because the words had lodged into his throat at the unexpected vision. Flickers of sharp blue hair merged into the gray and Naruto's eyes snapped to attention as he saw the solidifying forehead protector…

The dark slash that marred across the metal center - the icon wasn't the same one Naruto had grown up knowing.

He saw the rain-like dots and it struck him.

_Hidden Mist._ The blonde's eyes widened and he took another stumble back.

And then the rest of the foreign face appeared, clear amidst the wavering lines of his teacher's fading features and disappearing army-green vest.

At around the same time, the situation became clear to Naruto. And his mouth opened as he finally found his voice.

"Genjuts-!" The blonde had barely uttered, when a pale blue hand sliced sharply over the back of his neck, cutting off the blood at just the right places, sending in the sudden shock of pressure and taking away bits of his vision.

The genin felt his breath falter as his body caved. And when he hit the ground with a painful thud, his world went dark and the consciousness left.

A booming shower of green lit up the sky as the tall form stood above the Kyuubi vessel, and the colors illuminated the mesh of sharp predatory teeth, spreading out now into a slow, twisted smile.

**

* * *

8:40 pm**

Kakashi waited for the blonde girl to slip her key into the lock, but she didn't.

Instead, she merely gave the door a push and stepped inside.

"This way." He heard her speak.

The jounin felt his muscles tense and he hesitated only a brief moment, until he saw the appearance of the room inside. Couches to one side, a T.V. to the other, and one bed in the center.

Fairly normal.

He stepped inside and had barely turned his head to look for his missing student when the door behind him flew shut, slamming against the frame.

_I knew it._

Kakashi lowered his arms sharply to reach for his shuriken and his eyes widened when the muscles of his body locked - sucked down to the ground in heavy gravitation. His fingers hovered halfway to his holster frozen, and the jounin could only manage an agonizing lift of his head until the weight intensified, clenching into his muscles and pinning down his legs.

_This is… a curse, nin-jutsu …spell paper… _

The jounin tried out his limbs, but it was only his mind that was alert now, sending frantic signals along a body that no longer felt inclined to respond.

He watched as the girl walked further into the room with careful steps, and then she'd turned around to face him. Eyes dead, face frozen, almost doll-like and inhuman.

Suddenly, Kakashi knew why he was still awake, why his mind was allowed to think and observe even if the rest of him had shut down. Because to have a mind, meant to have the senses.

Sight.

Smell.

Touch.

Taste.

And only with a mind could he believe it all. Only with a mind was this technique fatal.

The room was darkening now. Swirling and morphing into a different presentation of four corners even as the girl stood, unchanging amidst it all.

It was painfully familiar, though it was something he'd encountered only a few times before…

_Genjutsu._

The room had stopped changing.

With the disappearing floorboards and walls, came a clouded encasement of glowing, purple solidity.

No windows, no doors.

Endlessness in a sealed box.

And then he saw the chair, pressed to one corner of the illusion.

And the figure seated on it.

Kakashi wasn't prepared to feel the panic, but it came in a sharp gush that gripped tight into his chest when he saw her…

The bruises on her face and arms, the weakened slouch that told him she was struggling just to be alive, the tangled mess of black hair that fell strewn over her bloody kimono and the coil of sharp wires tangled around and around her small body…

"Yume…" The jounin managed with a faltering breath.

And then he saw the glistening fluid, pooling along the ceilings and corners…

The familiar trickling sounds… intensifying into thrumming pelts…

Kakashi's eyes widened and whatever was left of his composure plummeted.

_No… no, no… _

The sides of the room started to flood and the jounin could do nothing as he saw the pools of water, snaking closer, soaking the portions along his feet, filling the room's floor, rising quickly by the millimeter…

Rising higher and higher…

In no time, high enough to drown them.

**

* * *

8:40 pm**

"Sakura…"

The girl blinked at the glimmers of purple in the sky and then she turned with a smile to him.

But when she saw the unfamiliar look in his eyes, her mouth slowly lowered and she gentled with hesitation.

"I..."

It had never been so difficult, in all his life, to articulate a sentence. Sasuke felt the tightening of his chest, and the insistent thumps of a heartbeat solid against his ribs. But at the same time, the words were there… pushing up amidst the panic, needing to be said.

She needed to hear it.

And he wanted to tell her.

"Sasuke-…kun…" the girl whispered. And the look in her eyes told him. That she knew what he was about to say, but that she would wait for long moments if she had to… until he finally could.

His eyes squeezed shut and somewhere he heard the whistling screech of another shell of fireworks…

_Say it._

His chest constricted…

Everything inside him coiled in anticipation…

_Say it._

The seconds slowed…

And he never thought he would be here, telling her…

But now, he was only too certain about the way he felt. The conviction.

_I love her._

The thought finally solidified and soon the gush of emotions came…

Making it easier…

Easier to say those words that meant so much to her…

His eyes opened, meeting with her shining emerald irises, and with an intake of breath he found his voice.

"… I lo-"

- Metal whistled past his shoulder cutting deep into his skin before slamming into the tree behind his head.

The words broke off. And the boy lowered with a strangled gasp, clutching one hand to the sting while frantically raising his head to the darkness in front.

_What…-_

And then the sweeping, quiet voice came…

"Foolish little brother…"

… And with that one murmured statement, Sasuke's heart stopped.

And the world shattered.

**

* * *

Author's Notes:**

**AH GASP-ness!!! It starts… **

**And I have just as much a heavy heart as anyone.**

**If you liked it, if you hated it, if it was heavy or too melo-dramatic… Speak. :) Because you know i'll listen.**


	32. CHANGE OF HEART

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**I spent loads of time on this chapter… And that means a worked double-extra hard on it! Blood, sweat and tears and I hope it was well-worth it! –grins-**

**So I give you my all.**

**Dozo!**

Chapter 32

* * *

The young girl at the counter was in the middle of balancing paperwork and tacking new reminders to the inn's corkboard when she saw the flash of red in front of her. 

"Oh good gods, I stand before your kami..." The brown-haired man mused with ease.

He whipped off his scarlet hood and grinned at her with a glimmer of deep honey eyes. "…Hello."

The girl blinked as two other men came up behind him, and then she'd blushed and lowered her head.

"May I help you?" she asked, more to the table than anything.

"Oh I wouldn't want that…" The handsome man pushed an elbow into the counter listlessly before his eyes lifted with a smile. "We're here to beat up a friend."

The girl's eyes widened slightly, "I'm sorry, beat up… a friend?"

"Nothing he won't survive..." the man leisurely said, "and only because he's been hiding someone so gorgeous."

At the lazy smirk directed at her, the girl's face warmed and she lowered to hide a threatening smile. Keska pushed away from the table and threw off half his robe, whipping his arm out and showing her the Anbu tattoo over his left bicep. The girl's face cleared with understanding.

"I'm Hayai Keska, captain of Konoha's stealth force," The man explained before he stuck a thumb back, "To my left and right - are Konoha's elite jounin. I understand that Hatake Kakashi is staying here. And we have urgent matters to discuss with him."

"I see…" She gave a wide smile, "the man with the mask… and the three students?"

"Yes, gorgeous… that would be him." The ANBU captain smiled, almost sweetly.

"Well, captain. I think you arrived just in time. I saw him enter a moment ago with another girl currently booked here."

_Another girl. _The commander skeptically thought, _Well that's not like you at all, copy-boy. _

"Really." Keska declared out loud, before he shook his head and gave her an exaggerated look of disapproval. "Huh. I tell them all not to fall for his charms… To no avail apparently."

The two jounins behind him gave each other significant looks as the girl laughed.

"I'll have to ask you three to sign the guest book before you head upstairs. His room is 213." She smiled, taking the black booklet and holding it out towards the captain.

He took the brush and was just about to sign in the blank line when something caught his eye.

One particular name, written just a few spaces above.

_Hatori Mizo…_

_Huh. Familiar ANBU alias._

_What a coincidence it would be if it wasn't him. _

And everything inside Keska was telling him that it was…

Uchiha Itachi.

"Ahhh…" The commander threw a hand to his messy head and gave her a curling look.

"Duty calls and this can't wait. So in case I don't find him and call surprise interrogation, I'll need the girl's room number…"

The lady gave a nod and turned around to check her log book.

The ANBU captain draped himself casually over the counter and crossed his legs as he waited.

Keska didn't need a sixth sense like Hatake to know…

Something here just wasn't right.

_

* * *

No. _

Sasuke's breath was a series of shuddering quakes as the panic rose into his chest. His hand bunched tighter into his bleeding shoulder as his eyes continued to stare into that bulk of darkness in the trees.

The figure stepped forward, and the pale light of the moon shone over the curves of his shoulders, the side of his face…

And suddenly, everything came rushing back in a series of flashing memories, the streets, the dead bodies, the glint of a katana as the cold steel pressed to the kneeling forms of his parents…

The man took another step and even as the familiarity came, Sasuke numbly tried to deny it.

_No._

Itachi broke away from the shadows. And his lips opened to speak as he came forward.

"If you wish to kill me…"

The panic gripped Sasuke's throat at the words he recognized.

"Despise me. HATE me."

"Stop-"

"Run…" the man cut him off and the dark eyes flashed, "…run and cling to a loathesome life."

He came to a stop in the middle of the clearing and after a moment Itachi raised his solid black gaze to the boy in front.

"Sasuke…" his sweeping voice broke out "…you disappoint me."

The younger Uchiha's breath faltered audibly. And he clenched his teeth as he instinctively moved closer to Sakura.

_Don't let him get to her…_

_Protect her…_

"Sasuke-kun-" the girl's small voice came out from beside him, "-That man… is your brother?"

At the sound, Itachi jerked. And Sasuke's body grew stiff with dread.

_No…_

The man turned, and his terrifying eyes flew sharply to her face.

His legs lowered gathering momentum…

_No!._

Without warning, Itachi had shot towards the kunoichi.

"NO!!!" Sasuke shouted, pushing off the ground. And he did the only thing he could in that split second – He stepped in front of the curled-up girl in defense.

A hard kick slammed into his right rib, and the breath in his lungs escaped as he hurtled and then smashed into grass and rocks. Sasuke's face slammed into the dirt and he pulled in a gasp even as he heard the soft crack just below his chest.

The pain erupted like fire, piercing deep into his tightening lungs as he twisted in agony. "Aa..aughh.. I… -tachi-" Sasuke bit out. The field in front of him lost focus from the pain as he pushed his head up… But suddenly his suffering was no longer his concern.

A flash of a cold glare.

Sakura's eyes flew open as one hand quickly wrapped around her throat, and then the older Uchiha had lifted her sharply by the neck, slamming her body back against the tree.

"A-ugh!" the girl's breath wrenched out, and she gasped, reaching up to the tightening fingers around her wind-pipe.

"No! You're dealing with me!!-" The boy on the ground shouted. He pushed in a breath, and the sensation of something foreign trickled into his lungs. Sasuke lowered his head with a choked cough and the spots of his blood grazed the grass.

"Who are you to ask…?" Itachi's low voice pushed out, and his eyes lifted vehemently to Sakura's face as she struggled to breathe, "You. Nothing but an obstacle - A weakling who will never get the privilege to see my eyes… do you even deserve an answer?" And suddenly his hands had squeezed even more into her skin – effortlessly - from the unflinching look of the older Uchiha's face.

But Sakura was in pain, pushing her legs out against him as the tightening to her neck forced out a choke.

At the sight, Sasuke's heart grew frantic and he forced back the pain, raising himself with a tremble from the ground.

"Let her go!! You're problem is me! You deal with me!!-"

"-I TOLD YOU… to grow in hate…" The older brother fiercly cut in. "And what have you done? You've destroyed your path, one I had perfectly lain out for you. And now you are nothing."

"You don't know what I've become." Sasuke seethed.

"You've become a disgrace! Like all the rest of our useless family.-" Itachi's voice hissed low.

"Didn't I tell you that to grow stronger and gain power, you must live for yourself?… Live only in that manner and become great. Serving others, relationships, friends, LOVE,… does nothing for you. The stupidity of one such as yourself, sacrificing for a pathetic girl... For _love_. What has it brought you?" Sakura gave a silent bleat as Itachi's fingers pressed bruising marks into her skin. And Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"- Only pain."

"That's not… true." The boy quietly hissed out as he wavered on his two feet. And his eyes looked out, solid onyx, amidst the sharp bangs of his dark hair.

"I've become… happier than I've ever been-" His voice stopped as a streak of pain threatened at his side and he cringed. But after a moment, Sasuke lifted his head, and his lips formed a bitter smile.

The older Uchiha saw the certainty shaping his dark eyes.

"…I don't need you anymore." The younger boy whispered.

Itachi stiffened at the sudden breathless words.

"What did you say?" he questioned in a low, menacing voice.

"I DON'T NEED YOU! I don't need to wake up everyday asking myself why I'm still here. I don't have to think about ways to kill you… just so I can prove to myself I have a purpose in living. I already know… why…" The younger Uchiha's voice broke with the weight of truth. And his eyes lifted resolutely, "I know why I want to live…"

_Naruto… Kakashi… Sakura… _

_I know why I'm alive._

Itachi seemed to read his thoughts in that one flash of a moment, and the more Sasuke's implications settled in, the more his anger rose. The emotions he'd long forgotten to feel, rushed in, filling him in a great torrent of violence.

And suddenly, he felt the composure and calm, the numbness that came with years of cold-blooded killing, lift. And his eyes grew threateningly dark.

_Destroyed. His plans had been destroyed because of THIS. _

_Even his very unfeeling nature – was gone. _

Sakura trembled from the effort of holding herself up against him, just to squeeze in ample breath.

But even in her haze of panic, she saw the man's fist clench. And in a flash, it had pummeled into her stomach, pushing out the air and burying her into a shock of pain, deeper into tree bark.

Her knees rose in reflex and she could do nothing but give a choked cry as the tears welled.

"Sakura!!!" The boy bit out, and his mind thought rapidly of what to do. To distract his brother, to do anything for him to release her. And he thought about the Chidori, the cursed seal, his speed and every combination of combat he had ever learned…

But Sasuke realized that it was futile.

Because in his hands, Itachi held the life most important to him –

… Her.

One false move, perhaps even just a formation of one hand-seal… and Itachi would find a reason to crush Sakura.

His throat tightened with panic as he realized, he could do nothing.

His brother had him trapped, just as much as if he had been the one under that strangling grasp.

And suddenly, the helplessness came.

The same feeling Sasuke always seemed to have… when he faced his brother.

His hands lowered, dropping lifelessly against his sides.

"SAKURA." Itachi uttered with a bitter, condescending tone. "… A suiting name… - The cherry blossom blooms for a mere four days before it already begins to wilt and die…- She can do nothing for your future. When will you realize it?" The older brother turned sharply to him, his marred features contorted with a bite of frustration.

"This girl… has used you! Must I hurt you, again and again to have you comprehend it? You have risked yourself for her, jumped in the line of fire… But even with that, can you now save her? No. Because your heart has made you are weak. "

Sasuke shut his eyes at the sting of the word, turning his face down with a flitting jerk.

"That village you call 'home'… those people use you – trade your life for money and missions, and break you. For Konoha, our clan sacrificed their body, their lives… their very souls… Until they became bruised and battered, and had nothing left for themselves… But I've become tired… of living only to be used, and discarded… like a tool."

Itachi's eyes drifted closed. And when the stark eyelashes once more lifted, his gaze was filled with sudden somberness.

"…I speak… because I have been there, Sasuke. I have been used… many, many times. I have sacrificed for others, lent my abilities, fought and killed for the village… and in return, I got my admiration. But they failed to understand…" his voice trailed off, "That I had my own hopes and dreams for my future… that I couldn't do everything they wanted and expected of me… Oto-san-" he whispered.

Sasuke's eyes flickered at the mention of their father. And he watched as the anger flowed back into his older brother's stare, making it cold.

"…That man… expected too much from me." The older brother said with finality.

"… Still… no reason…"

Itachi's eyebrows drew together as he heard the girl in his grip gasp the words.

"for you…to… kill…them… - think about… Sa…Sasuke-kun… he didn't want… to live …- live… that way-to suffer like- tha- …A-!"

The older Uchiha yanked at Sakura's hair, pulling her head up with a violent jerk. His black eyes seemed to flash a slight crimson before the color disappeared.

"You have no RIGHT… to say anything on the matter." The older man almost snarled.

The younger Uchiha resisted the urge to move, even if everything in his body was telling him to act.

But before further thought, his brother had once again raised his voice.

"Do you know what I want, Sasuke? I shall tell you what I want, because everything else I have done has failed. Perhaps, foolish one, your daft mind can only comprehend my purpose for you if I tell you simply without loitering… as I have done for so long."

His fingers raked over Sakura's pink hair, and the girl gave a soft sob as he renewed the painful tug.

"…What I want… for you, Sasuke, is a life free of any attachment to others… A life you control only by understanding that YOU are more important than anybody else… To have you realize that you must never waste your life for another person's happiness… It is only essential for me to hurt you. To sever the ties you hold so dearly, so that you will learn it with all your heart: A life worth living… is one that you must live for yourself, and not for others. That, Sasuke… is how you will become the strongest you can possibly be. And I wait for that day to come."

Itachi almost smiled, and the expression reminded Sasuke too much of the past, when it was simple and good.

_How I will become strong. _

_To not be used by others. _

_It's true, _Sasuke realized, _the village did use its ninja in exchange for money…_

_Am I … just a tool?_

His fingers gripped tight to the sleeves of his yukata, fighting to control the shooting bursts of sudden fear and the welling tension.

Afraid now, because some part of him was starting to believe his brother's poisonous words.

"Sasuke…" His older brother murmured with surprising tenderness, and despite the deadly grasp he had on the girl, his marred features softened as he studied the boy.

"It is painful to be alone. But this is necessary for you to learn. I left you alive because I want you to have a life that is every bit different from the one I was forced to live. Because I only want what is best for you. Because you have the potential to be great… and because... I love you - as my little brother." The older Uchiha finished, and in a complete shift of mood, he gave the boy a strange affectionate gaze.

Sasuke felt a shiver run up his spine at the words.

The outright confession spoken in a burst of a few sentences.

His brother had finally answered the question that had been haunting him for years and years.

The answer to why he left him alive.

At the same time, Itachi's hand tightened over Sakura's small neck, and the girl's teeth pushed out in pain as her eyes opened in slits of bleariness.

_The best for Sasuke-kun? _

_By taking away everything that he needed? His family and a bright future? _

_To live a life selfishly to get stronger? _

_What's the point in getting stronger if Sasuke-kun won't be able to share his abilities with those who need him most?_

_What he's saying…Is not sensible._

… _He's crazy… _The girl realized, feverishly.

_Sasuke-kun's brother is crazy._

And in the frustration, Sakura's eyes tightened with moist tears and she forced an agonizing swallow as her vision started to darken with small sparkles.

She no longer cared for herself, her current state wasn't a concern.

If her words could get through to this man-, if only he could understand…

She pushed the breath into her lungs, and her voice came out solid amidst the muteness of the dark forest.

"IT'S NOT RIGHT TO IMPOSE THE KIND OF LIFE YOU WANTED ON HIM! YOU CAN'T CONTROL HIM AND IT'S NOT GOING TO ERASE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!! IF YOU LOVE SASUKE-KUN, HIS HAPPINESS SHOULD COME FIR-"

A hand slammed against her cheek… and the last word faltered as her jaw hit the tree.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the girl's words, and in the torn conflict raging inside, she emerged victorious. What Sakura said echoed in his mind, and he realized the startling truth.

_She's right…_

_She knows more than I do… _

_Itachi didn't care for my happiness…_

_Didn't care that he had destroyed my life._

And Sasuke wanted nothing, he realized, but to continue believing Sakura. Because she knew the weight of her words and lived by them everyday. Before her, he'd been in the dark with no clear answer. And then she had come along, and pulled him out into light.

_I trust her._

The happiness…

He would do anything for that happiness.

Nothing had felt more certain to him.

"You are a menace!" Itachi vehemently spat out.

"Let her go!!!" Sasuke shouted. And with the newfound anger came the release of blood, bathing his irises a deep scarlet that produced the black comas, openly swirling in careful sweeps.

The younger boy's raven hair bristled as he lowered with a crouch.

At this, the older brother's anger flared.

"No. I won't let her go, Sasuke." Itachi whispered.

And his eyes seemed to press with pressuring weight over his, causing the dread to build inside the younger boy.

"Until you have learned…" He icily said.

With a hardened jaw, Sasuke raised his face.

Itachi mutely glowered.

For a moment of silence, the two regarded each other with building hate - Each one, convinced of his purpose and both sharing the same rage.

A shower of pink erupted in the sky, dancing eerily along their standing forms.

And then the glow had faded into darkness.

"Kneel."

_What.. _Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the word, but he did nothing.

He wouldn't give in anymore. He wouldn't run and hide. And waste his life alone.

"Kneel before me, Sasuke…" Itachi commanded with grating calm.

_Never. _

The younger boy's irises swept over him, trying to read the next movement.

Trying with all his skill to be one step ahead.

But even with the Sharingan and its ability to predict, he came unprepared for the shock of the next gesture.

With fluid ease that came with years of practice, Itachi had reached sideways and unsheathed a katana that Sasuke failed to notice. He whipped the sharp edge up and pressed its glinting blade against Sakura's throat.

She gasped and stiffened, green irises trembling with unshed tears and fear.

Sasuke's eyes flew open. His breath pushing out in tremors as the sharp blade continued to dig into the flesh of the girl's neck.

His body grew cold, straining with the sudden grip of fright.

"Kneel…"

The voice solidified into the air. As sure as the fact that Sasuke could do nothing.

Nothing but follow him.

The boy's eyes closed with painful resignation, and he felt the slow crumble of his heart.

A disgrace in front of Itachi. A weak excuse for a ninja.

_I can't defend her. _

_I'm worthless… _

_I'm nothing…. _

The steel pressed into Sakura's skin, and the girl drew a sound as small beads of crimson leaked into the blade.

Sasuke had never felt the mixture of emotions as he did then.

To kneel before the one he despised most…

To be useless in front of the one he loved…

To be disgraced… in front of them both.

…

_Sakura…_

He closed his eyes and swallowed.

And then the tensai-rookie had lowered his knees into the grass with a dull thump.

His hair slipped forward, and the shadows hid the retreating Sharingan as it faded off into coal black.

A bubbling sob came from the captive girl, and the older Uchiha ignored her.

"Now…" Itachi's voice murmured… "Bow…"

_No… _Sasuke's face hardened in anger.

"Bow… like you had always done before father."

But the young boy could only raise his eyes in silent rebellion for a flash of a moment, before his shoulders succumbed to defeat.

Despite the sword digging into her skin, the intensifying pain Sakura felt for Sasuke pressed into her chest…

She'd never think it to go this far.

To get so twisted, that Itachi would liken himself to the position of their father and expect the boy to give him the same treatment.

And with Sasuke's pride – a part of him passed down from one Uchiha generation to the next – …

The kunoichi's heart squeezed…

How it must feel for him at this moment, to be degraded and torn like this…

_Sasuke-kun… I'm sorry…_

A tear streaked down her cheek as she watched the boy plant his arms to the ground.

And then he was lowering. His hands digging into the dirt, and gripping at the blades of grass.

He kept an agitated silence, and his eyes focused on nothing but the shadowed space in front of his nose.

"Lower…" Itachi commanded languidly.

_Sasuke-kun._

Anger overtook the kunoichi and she kicked out with a cry against Itachi, only to realize how weak she'd gotten.

It was hard enough to breathe, and there was no more oxygen left.

Her muscles had used up too much of it, and after only seconds of thrashing, her limbs gave up exhausted.

She finally caved with a frustrated pant.

"You're-… a monster." She brokenly ground out as a tear trickled down her chin.

The older man seemed not to hear her, might have even been unaware of her small burst of a struggle. He continued to stare, at the stooped-over form of the boy in his navy-blue yukata as he pressed so close to the ground, the grass brushed along his forehead.

And Itachi couldn't help drawing his face back, admiring the boy's regal posture.

Yes.

The perfect bow of reverence.

Just for him.

And it was only right.

Because he would teach Sasuke to ride above all others and it was the least his little brother could do to thank him.

A shell of fireworks exploded in the distance. But none of the three noticed.

"This." Itachi started, "This is what it's like, Sasuke. The pride you have to swallow when you give in to serve for the sake of useless ties, when you fight for friends and live on the impulses of love… " His voice flowed with delicious conviction, before his eyes flickered down.

"You become soft. And then become… weak."

And the last word pounded again into Sasuke's mind, relentlessly twisting and wringing at his self-worth, finding a way to lodge torturously into his being.

_Weak…_

His eyes narrowed amidst the grass.

"Sasuke-kun… Don't believe him!! Please-!"

"-Shut up!" The boy bit out, and the sting of his own words wrung at his chest.

But Sasuke knew it was the only way she would come out alive. If she was quiet.

He heard the girl let out a sob and at the sound, his fingers buried deeper into the forest ground.

"Shut up, Sakura…" he evenly ordered with a hiking tremble of breath.

"… I could do it now. Kill this useless excuse for a ninja. But… she isn't even worth that."

Itachi's eyes peered into Sasuke's and the boy suddenly felt as if his brother could read his thoughts.

"She means much to you… And I can use that to my advantage."

The girl gasped when the older Uchiha's rough hands reached for the fold of her kimono and pushed it open.

"What are you doing!!?" Sasuke's voice cried with anger. And he forgot all about his position on the ground as he pushed up.

But before he could stand, a force smashed into his spine, pinning him with a sprawl to the dirt.

The breath rushed out of his lungs with a hiss.

"I am teaching you… a lesson." The voice came from behind him, and Sasuke realized that the older Uchiha had created a clone, its sandal digging with crushing weight into the curve of his back. His broken rib pressed painfully to the ground with every rattling breath, and the boy pushed his face into the dirt with a strangled roar of fury.

Itachi's expression remained detached.

Sasuke's eyes filled with dread as his brother's pale hand began to slip into the long folds of Sakura's gray kimono.

"Stop…" he trembled. "STOP IT!"

Sakura felt the foreign hands push under her, skimming cold over her warm skin, and the disgust reared amidst the panic and pain. She let out a cry, saying the boy's name helplessly.

"Sa--.. Sasuke-kun!!!"

Sasuke's heart gave a sick lurch, because even as the girl kicked and twisted against him, Itachi had on his face, the makings of a smile.

His hands forced the girl's kimono sideways, exposing the pale flesh of her stomach. And at the sight of the abuse, Sasuke flared, his tolerance finally snapping.

_Do something._

_ANYTHING!_

He gave a loud growl, pushing his hands together in a flurry of hasty seal-work.

His left arm stiffened, and from it, came a weak, fizzling version of a Chidori.

It erupted in a messy burst of poor lightning. And the trademark call of a supposed thousand birds, dwindled into mute chirps.

_No! _Sasuke's jaw clenchedand he pushed his face into the dirt.

NO!!!…

… His arm had failed him

The dislocation of his elbow gave a retorting twinge of pain and with that his limb dropped sullenly over the ground.

Itachi gave a somber laugh coated in pity.

"And how did your teacher's special technique diminish into such a useless one? I assume… " The older Uchiha lifted his eyes, "that you've sacrificed another part of yourself for someone else…"

"-Because I'm nothing like you!!-" The boy shouted. And the breath wedged as the Itachi clone ground into him more sharply.

"Sasuke-kun! You're stronger than this- I know it!! Please…-" The girl whimpered, and her green eyes swept over the man in front of her in desperation. "Please stop hurting him!"

"Useless." Itachi murmured. And without another word, he had wrapped a cold hand around her shorts and sharply yanked it down over her legs.

The girl's eyes widened and she gave a piercing scream, trying to close her legs against the intrusion.

"NOOOO!!! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!" Sasuke hollered, and with a surprising burst of adrenaline and chakra, he twisted sideways and grabbed the clone's leg with his good hand.

His injured elbow came up and Sasuke shut his eyes - preparing himself for the shattering pain.

With all his strength, he brought the energy to his arm and flung it down, aiming straight through the ankle.

Bone met with bone, and the Itachi bunshin crumpled down on one leg, but it was only Sasuke's voice that echoed in agony.

"AUUGHH!!!!" The boy recoiled, bit back the pain and scrambled to his feet, running forward.

He pushed his trembling arms together and solidly formed the seals.

_Please… _

Ox – Ram – Dragon -

_For her…_

Hare – Bird – Tiger…

_Don't fail me…_

His palms slammed together in closing. And then he'd whipped his left arm sideways.

"Haaaaahhh … ITACHI!!!!" He roared. One sandal kicked off the field and as he rose, the Chidori shot to life, incessant and stubborn, strong enough at least to push up with grating force into his palm, searing through raw skin.

In a flash, Sasuke had shot forward, hand outstretched. So close in front he could see his brother's narrowing eyes.

And then - force.

Sasuke felt the odd tug at his wrist, and then the violent backwards pull.

The clone had grabbed his arm.

He'd barely felt the shock when he flew into the ground, unearthing grass and moss as he backslid and crashed with force into a tree.

And then, the pain soared from everywhere.

Blinding, shooting daggers that crept up his side, gripped behind his head and pummeled into his arms.

He crumpled into the ground with a wince.

And as he tried to bring in a series of aching breaths, he heard Sakura scream his name.

Something gripped to the back of his head, digging into his scalp. The clone pulled at his sharp locks, and Sasuke found himself panting as he eyed Itachi with squinted eyes.

"I did not give you the permission to move." The older brother stoically indicated.

"Permission… to move…?" Sasuke breathlessly repeated and the blood trickled down his forehead as his eyebrows drew together in loathing, "I…tachi… FUCK Y-"

"-Interesting, you should keep using that word. How ironically precise." The genjutsu-user cut him off with a flowing murmur.

The words struck him. And Sasuke felt the paralyzing shock.

_No…_

_He's not thinking of… _

Sasuke's vision shifted blearily.

If it weren't for the rage, and his fear for Sakura, he would have been numb.

Numb despite the thoughts… that he was losing everything.

That Itachi was taking everything from him… again, so effortlessly.

"Do you see this, Sasuke?" the older brother's eyes raked over the exposed middle of the kunoichi with cold finality.

"She's not even good enough to provoke a reaction from a healthy man's body…"

Sasuke jerked his head to the ground with helpless frustration.

"…Too bad." Itachi murmured, and his eyebrows drew together as the man gave Sasuke a lowered stare of degradation.

The boy had run out of futile words to oppose him…

Sasuke's head bowed with tight eyes, and he suppressed the bubbles of anguish threatening to overtake him. What his brother was doing, the lengths Itachi was going to bring back his hate…

It was working, efficiently. And Sakura would have to suffer along with him, in a way he would never be able to forgive himself for.

_He won't… He's not going to._

_It's impossible._

_Someone will come. They should have heard the screams._

_Kakashi…_

_Kakashi will come just in time to save Sakura. _

Overwhelmed.

Unable to find a solution, and spiraling towards the worst possible scenario.

And suddenly, he had shattered.

With the erosion of his new world, came the realization that he could never have what he wanted in life.

Not with Itachi still alive.

And as the thought sunk in, he felt the same prison, once again closing in over his world.

_This… is a dream._ Sasuke hazily thought.

_A bad dream. _

_Wake up…_

"Sasuke… Now is your chance to see her the way you have always wanted to. Or… have you already?"

_Don't listen… _

_It will go away if I don't listen. _

His chest ached and he felt the sudden dizzying nausea.

"Look up."

The younger Uchiha numbly shook his head as he continued to stare at the grass.

_No._

He could almost feel the tears.

"Look up, Sasuke. Or I will kill her."

His vision blurred…

He had no choice.

With a trembling head, the young boy raised his eyes.

And the weight of his heart pressed into his stomach when he saw the look on Sakura's face.

The night had started out so perfectly. And now her pink strands were pressed moist to her tear-steaked face, the gray kimono gracelessly shoved aside, and her eyes… as she looked at him.

Even now, she could only gaze in difficult resignation.

But he saw no anger or disappointment for him.

He only saw love.

The way she had always looked at him.

Sasuke felt the pain bite, and his hand rose to clutch, not at an injury, but at another invisible ache, in his chest.

Itachi lowered the katana, and idly studied the tip of the sword.

And then he'd raised his emotionless eyes, "This is your final lesson, little brother."

After a moment, the beautiful eyelashes lowered against his marred cheeks and he quietly spoke.

"If I see you look away… I won't hesitate. I will take her life."

And Sasuke felt the world darken as the girl in front of him dropped her head and shut her eyes, finally preparing to accept.

The worst of the worst.

It wasn't a dream…

…And how the boy wished, instead, that it was just that.

* * *

"I checked for signs of life upstairs. The room is locked and nobody is inside…" 

Daisuke jogged up to Keska and Atom breathlessly. "Hatake Kakashi isn't in his room." He said with certainty.

The ANBU captain gave a nod and removed his scarlet robe, exposing the black turtle neck and drawstring pants. He tossed the cloak over his shoulder and turned to them.

"We go to the girl's room. Down this hallway, and keep your eyes wide open Lilac… Atom-" the man waved a gloved hand forward.

The two jounins nodded and followed.

* * *

Kakashi's eye darted up to the four corners of the room, watching as the gush of water flowed down. 

If he had his sharingan open, he could have seen it, the source of the curses. And he might have found a way to silently disspell it with his mind. But now it was too late. Because with every passing second the curse was intensifying, pulling at his muscles, disabling even the slightest bit of movement…

He was barely familiar with this kind of jutsu. But the jounin knew that soon everything, except for the involuntary muscles would no longer function.

Even then Kakashi could only think of one thing:

_She's sitting on a chair tied down… When the water rises, it will drown her first. _

The room was already half-filled. And with Yume's head down, unconscious, she would be breathing in water within seconds.

The frustration shot around inside him as he tried to force a reaction from his stony limbs, but there was no miracle waiting for him. He remained motionless and locked down.

_I should have known. I should have been more cautious. Even if I sensed her to possess no skills as a ninja… To trust this person just because she looked like a helpless woman and a common villager, I was wrong._

The girl in the kimono stepped closer to Yume. The water sloshed around her waist as she moved.

Kakashi could only watch in shock as she pulled two short swords out of her robe, holding one out across the waves of water towards the neck of the girl beside her.

The other sword, she pointed straight to the space where her heart was.

"I will watch you both drown." She said in monotone.

"And if by some chance you find a way to move-" the sword pressed closer to Yume's neck. "I will kill her first. And then I shall kill myself."

Kakashi was filled with dread when it provoked no reaction from the seated girl. It seemed that Yume was too far gone. He tried to move his lips to talk, but even that, he found he couldn't do.

Utterly helpless and clueless as to how to manage the situation.

Kakashi watched as the blonde girl's eyes lifted in a strangely familiar way.

His neck prickled at the cold nothingness in her gaze, at the startling familiarity of that stare.

The familiarity… Where had he seen it before?

And suddenly the use of genjutsu, the water, his sense of lingering dread, this villager who was being controlled like a puppet, and the thoughts of his students… Sasuke… Naruto – … Naruto… the Kyuubi vessel.

Everything came together and finally struck the paralyzed jounin.

_Akatsuki. _

_Uchiha Itachi and that other man… _

_The water clones…_

Were they in this together?

"This was a personal request, Hatake Kakashi, from one who despises you. That you die by drowning in water… A slow and painfully helpless death…"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the girl until he noticed that the water had inched up to above Yume's mouth now, and that it was close to his own chest, still steadily rising.

He forced in the breath and tapered down the panic. Think of a way. How to move, how to speak…

And then it came to him.

_Pain._ By feeling pain, he could somehow manage to break away from the genjutsu.

_The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body, if I can move it… _

Without a second thought, the jounin concentrated on doing just that, even as his eye continued to stare unflinchingly at the controlled girl in front of him.

"And if you by some chance survive after the genjutsu has worn off…" the girl continued with a sudden emotionless smile, "Then I shall use this sword to kill you."

Kakashi remained watching, but his heart was hammering in his chest.

Relying on such a petty thing – to move his tongue and bite it.

It was almost laughable, and ironically, gravely fatal, if he was not careful.

Too bad, the jounin was serious. And almost too sure, that he was willing to die to save a life.

…

To save an Uchiha's life…

Something he had already once failed to do…

And almost immediately the memories rushed back, and the jounin remembered his dying childhood friend.

_Obito… _

Yes, the jounin was going to try.

Was going to keep trying until he could no longer see a point to it.

…The clock was ticking.

* * *

Keska screeched to a halt in front of the door, his brown eyes flitting to the silver-plated number as the footsteps of his approaching men came to a full stop behind him. 

This was it.

"115 is…" Keska jostled the doorknob, "… locked and fuckbit! What a time for you to finally get it on with a girl, copy-boy." He wrung out a hand impatiently to knock.

"Two- no- three people are in there." Daisuke cut in. "…Hatake Kakashi being the one closest to the door." The purple eyes narrowed, as they peered beyond the doorframe and the captain lowered his hand.

_Two more people? Girls? Well, damn me to the sungod. The man KNEW how to have his fun. _

For a moment Keska's mouth wordlessly opened, and then he pushed up with a blink.

"Huh… Well, congratulations I'm shocked. Sure as hell didn't think he was the type-"

"-Genjutsu, captain." Daisuke frantically looked at him with wide swirling violet irises.

"The room has curse papers. And judging from the way Hatake isn't moving, he's already caught in it."

"Ah hah! I knew he wasn't the type - and disspell it Lilac. I mean now."

"I don't know if I can,… It's different." The jounin finally said.

"Maybe I can break the door down. Would it be easier for you if you see it?" Atom asked.

Keska turned to the bulky man and his eyes flattened before he threw a hand over Atom's shoulder.

"Oxy… this is genjutsu! When you aren't the victim, the point is NOT seeing it. Breaking the door down won't do shit. And Lilac, stop gawking like an idiot and dispel it. Yes, kiss the kaimas, you might just be a new recruit so I command you as your captain. Do it NOW."

"I'll try… sir." Daisuke murmured, lowering to the floor and placing his hands on the wooden boards.

"'Try'…" Keska laced his tone with a drawl, "is a hill of blessed cowshit. What I want from you is a MOUNTAIN… -of holier-than-miko cowshit… Do it, because I believe you can."

"I got it." The jounin said with panic, placing his hands together in the combinations of complex dispel.

"Shit… " The captain gruffly repeated. His palms pressed into the door as he closed his eyes.

"Copy-boy… What… is happening in there?" He muttered.

* * *

The blonde's hair rose above the tide of water, and she focused a sickly calm gaze at the jounin. 

_Almost… _Kakashi's breath was coming out uneven, from the panic and from the stress.

Because Yume's head was completely submerged in water and had been for more than a minute.

_Bite down… Move your teeth and bite down. Feel pain._

But his mouth remained frozen.

If Kakashi could, he would have shut his eye in frustration. He would have given an angry cry. But the jounin could do nothing but look ahead and blink at the sight of her life, and his, slipping away with the rise of water.

_Is this how I am going to die? _

_I would have thought of a greater end. _

_Sakura… Sasuke… Naruto…_

In his mind, he saw their faces. Not his own life, but theirs flashed before his eyes.

Every mission they had taken together. Every training session and every moment of happiness, the lazy days and nights camping and talking under the stars, learning more and more about each of them everyday…

In his students, he had found a way to escape his painful past.

He remembered, how he had first been detached, but how, as the months flew by, he had slowly grown fond of them - even thought of his three genin as a chance to pay for his past mistakes as an ignorant child.

He only wished they would continue to progress, to become better than even him.

His eye settled over the flowing tendrils of black hair snaking along the water, and he saw that there were no air bubbles breaking to the surface.

She was gone. He bit back the curling distress. And somehow it was painful despite the many experiences he already had, of establishing new relationships that were taken away just as quickly with the loss of life.

Because Yume had been different…

The last girl of the Uchiha…

And he had wanted a chance to know her. It was a chance to save himself from the guilt of his past.

But he had failed. Again.

_I am sorry. _

_Obito…_

_Yume…_

Her smiling face, and the dancing brightness of her eyes. How he could have shared more days with her… He had looked forward to all of that after returning from his missions.

_Perhaps, I never deserved this title. _

_Elite ninja…_

The water was pushing up against his nose, and as the jounin forced in a last inhalation of breath, he felt the trickle of water stubbornly push in.

_No…_

_I'm not an Elite ninja._

And then the water was past his eye and he had held in his last gasp of air, only resigned now to watching the lifeless girl in front of him, her pale skin glowing in the purple water, her long, straight hair drifting dark and graceful amidst liquid.

Her eyes were closed, and her mouth spreading in a subtle line of pain. Kakashi studied a cut at the side of her lower lip, and as the rest of her bruises greeted him, the 27 year old felt the sudden immensity of sorrow settle into his slow-beating heart.

Because of him, the girl had suffered.

For how long while he was oblivious, he would never find out.

An Uchiha was the last person he would ever think of hurting.

And Yume would be the last thing he ever saw.

How bitterly ironic life was - finding a way to bring back one piece of his past, an Uchiha, giving him another chance to redeem himself, before fate finally decided that he wasn't worth that after all.

With that thought, Kakashi finally decided to release his last breath. He watched the large bubbles encased in oxygen drift up towards the surface. Yes, the onset of death was something he was suddenly resigned to accepting. Perhaps he only deserved it.

And the jounin counted down the seconds while he looked out at her face in sadness - seeing the small air bubbles slip up the sides of his face as he grew aware of that frantic pain…

The pain of wanting to breathe.

He ignored it and spoke her name in his mind instead.

_Yume…_

_Yume…_

…. Yume.

_--_

* * *

"Kai!" Daisuke called out. He pushed his palms down harsh against the ground and released a flow of black inscription that wove into the wood. 

The whole floor seemed to groan with sudden weight - the sounds of sycamore wood creaking and shifting against the jutsu.

And then silence.

"It's released!" The jounin had barely called out when Atom had already smashed into the door with a boulder of spikes and the captain had shot into the room amidst the flying planks.

* * *

Kakashi's eye could only widen in the water as the violet glow of the room around him dwindled away. The endlessness of swirling black dominating the center of the room faded and the original walls, ceiling and floor came rushing back, together with the furniture. The water gushing into the room now disappeared into nothing but a fading apparition, and the jounin's limbs regained movement, causing him to double backwards in surprise, landing hard into the wooden floor with sharp intakes for air. Kakashi gave a cough, already feeling the dampness that had trickled into his lungs, evaporate. 

And then he saw the blonde girl, running at him with a frustrated cry, the katana lashing out threateningly to stab him.

Kakashi rolled sideways and almost shouted when he was suddenly hit across the face with a blanket of red.

… _This… - A dress??_ He incredulously thought, snatching the fabric away from his face just in time to see a familiar figure high kick into the blonde girl's arm, causing the glinting sword to hurtle from her grasp and thump into the floor.

"Stiriiiike Twooo –" The man declared as he landed, "but I thought you were out, copy-boy. Second time I saved your ass, now you owe me yakiniku and no fuckin' mangoes - and damn, is this a woman-!?"

Keska grabbed the girl's arms as she kicked out against him. And he swiped a leg out, tripping her and pinning the flustered girl with a triumphant growl to the floor.

In his provocative position, the captain tossed the speechless jounin an exhilarated grin.

"Well-well… Kaima's ass, copy-boy, you really do have exquisite taste for fine villagers…"

Kakashi's eye recovered with disbelief as he saw the man in front of him. And though the jounin's throat was stil tight from the panic, he forced out his voice with a faltering gasp.

"Keska… She's not breathing. -Yume…is-"

"No pulse, her hearts stopped." Daisuke stated airily as his fingers left the side of her neck. "But she has a faint life-force, she's still here."

Kakashi pushed himself up, "She's inhaled too much water…"

"Then do it." Keska's eyes sharpened. The girl under him bucked and he tacked her wrists to the floor more firmly before casting Kakashi a look. "Do it. Drown-victim protocol for cardiac arrest."

Atom held out a finger, willing it to solidify into a sharp spike.

He swiped it down over the wires holding Yume, and both jounin quickly lowered her lifeless body to the floor.

"Copy-boy knows what he's doing. So trust him." The captain called out.

Kakashi lowered over the girl's body and both jounins pushed up. They respectfully stepped back, both men in agitated worry.

The 27 year old tilted her chin up and his eyebrows stiched together, "Breathe, Yume…"

The copy-ninja slid down his mask, closed the airways of her nose and sealed his mouth over hers.

ANBU protocol fed the elite jounin the rest in a synchronized organization of steps.

Two full breaths.

_Breathe._

_Yume…_

His hands pressed down over the hollow of her chest. And he applied the pressure.

Fifteen pumps – in ten seconds

_Come on. Breathe…_

His mouth came over hers and the jounin shut his eyes, trying to will even a bit of himself in her. He gave her the breath and she would have to accept him.

_Don't deny me._

_Live…_

Kakashi felt the expansion of her chest as his breaths filled her.

_There was no water. She can't possibly die._

_She won't die._

Daisuke peeked over his shoulder and his violet eyes widened as the circles inside rotated in study.

"It's working… Hatake."

"Good…" The copy-ninja murmured with a nod.

_Good._

His hands pumped, and the sweat trickled down his back as Kakashi prayed and wished.

_Give me another chance… Please… _

'_You' let me live. _

_Let her live._

_Let her live… _

His mind continued to chant with every downward push of his palms.

_Breathe…_

_Come on!_

_Yume!_

_Breathe…_

_Breathe…_

_Take it in…_

_Come on!!_

_Breath-!_

And the jounin's eye flew open as the girl's chin came up with a dry cough, her eyes bunching together in pain as her hands instinctively flew up to grasp his arm.

"Haaa … augh-" Yume choked as her body recoiled from the rush of oxygen.

"CAPTAIN!!! ….Sh- She's back!" Daisuke declared with a maddening grin, "Captain, she's ba-"

"-I very well hear the signs of life, Lilac. Thank you." The ANBU captain curtly replied with a curl of a charming smile.

And then his honey eyes lifted with incredulity as he looked at them. "Stop standing on your asses, ingrates and help me! Gods damn it! Are you my subordinates or what!"

"Yes sir!" Both jounin declared as they jumped and scrambled over.

The blonde was now struggling to toss off the ANBU captain. She cried out and thrashed before Atom effortlessly pressed her to the floor.

Daisuke managed to tie her back with a stash of wires he'd kept hidden in his vest and as soon as she was held down, the captain and the bulkier jounin released her.

The blonde's head lowered to the ground and suddenly, her body had softened, blue eyes closing unconscious.

Daisuke blinked. "What was that?"

"A puppet." Keska muttered. "Typical Itachi."

"Yume…" Kakashi couldn't stop from saying as the girl slowly came to life with shallow huffs.

Her bleary eyes focused on his and her pale lips spread out in a faint smile. "Hatake…?"

And just as he was about to nod, her eyes flew open and she frantically scanned the room. "Hatake! … Two men… they came… they tied me to a chair, I was-"

"Yes, I think I know who they are..."

"One of them… Uchiha-" She choked, as the sudden tears came and her gray eyes flew to his. "Sasuke's… brother. Sasuke is in trouble- I heard them, both of them, speaking about Naruto… they're going to take him and use him-… meet in the forest and-"

The jounin had barely comprehended the broken, incoherent sentences when suddenly the girl had frozen, mid-talk. Her lips mouthing words that had no sounds attached to it.

And Kakashi's chest filled with dread as he looked at her widening eyes…

Something was wrong.

"Yume." He called her name. But the girl's eyes had suddenly glazed over.

"Yume!!!"

Kakashi barely heard the scrambling of the two jounins and the captain when the girl underneath him was already shaking with sharp jerks and gasps. Her teeth clenched together in pain.

"What's wrong!? What happened?" Atom called out in a loud voice.

Kakashi's eye flitted back and forth across the girl, trying to look for signs of what was causing her sudden bout of quakes. And in desperation, he eyed the chair she was tied in, and the wires that held her.

It struck him suddenly as his gaze landed over the thin metal, the bluish traces swiped over the gray…

The wires…

"Poison…" He whispered with a widening eye.

Keska lowered beside him, and his hand flew to her neck to check the slowing pulse. "Her heart-rate is down… this most likely is…"

"Ha-…take…" The girl bleated as her hand gripped his vest to fight the quakes, "Na… Naruto… Sasuke… are-"

Amidst her words, the jounin's chest grew tight as his mind finally identified the kind of poison.

It was lethal. Something placed in shinobi darts and used in fights between villages. Its purpose was to kill rapidly, efficiently and surely within minutes. With her open cuts, it was sure the poison had gotten inside her system.

_He's won. _Kakashi's body grew numb, _Uchiha Itachi made sure to kill her and he's won. _

"Yume…" he whipped his pepper head down, "please stop ta-"

"…They're in trouble." She abruptly finished with a quick whisper.

And the jounin could do nothing, because his breath had lodged, together with the stiffening of her limbs.

Her fingers loosened over his clothes and dropped with a dull thunk to the wooden floor.

And then her face had slid sideways with a lifeless sway followed by the rest of her body.

Her eyes remained open, cast out against the floor and no longer seeing…

_No… _His throat tightened.

Kakashi slid backwards over the floor numb and unblinking as the reality set in.

Dead.

Yume was…

"Oh my god… She's… gone." Daisuke disbelievingly whispered. And after a few seconds he'd closed his eyes and abruptly turned away. "She's gone…" he mutely repeated.

"No…." The captain's hand dropped from the Uchiha's neck and he let out a cry of frustration as his fists pounded into the floor. "NO!"

Kakashi couldn't speak. He had lost his chance as abruptly as it had been brought back.

The flitting numbness swept through him even as he shuddered with mixed emotions of grief…

And the building anger was rising steadily…

_Uchiha… Itachi… _The copy-ninja's eye narrowed in terrifying weight.

"Fuck!!! She was here! Damnit the girl was already here!!!" Keska shouted. And then his face lowered to the floor with a thump as he cursed again between his lips.

Daisuke and Atom remained standing in shock, unable to say or do anything.

There was nothing to be done anymore.

For a moment, none of the four shinobi spoke, and the only sounds that could be heard were the crumbling of the paper seals, peeling off the corners of the ceiling and falling to the floor.

"Hatake…" The ANBU captain finally lifted his eyes from the ground, and the weight in his honey irises mirrored the anguish and pains of failure. "…I-"

"-Keska…" the copy-ninja quietly managed with a swallow, and he numbly pushed his mask back up over his face as he looked up. "All of you…" His glistening somber eyes fell over them, landing finally over the 21 year old ANBU captain again.

"… Thank you." He quietly whispered.

… Daisuke closed his eyes sadly and Atom gave a broken smile.

Even amidst the sudden death, amidst the failure of the ANBU captain to save an innocent Konoha villager's life…

The elite jounin had managed to thank them.

"Hatake…" Keska suddenly mumbled, "…Shut the fuck up."

And to the copy-ninja's slight surprise, the man came forward and roughly pulled him into a tight embrace.

An embrace of comfort, the jounin knew - a show of affection that Keska seldom allowed.

Kakashi's eye settled over the floor as his friend gave him firm claps over the back.

"Just … fuckin' shut up, man." The captain quietly said.

And that was that.

* * *

"You can't..." Sasuke's voice was shuddering from the loss of control. His terrified eyes looked up at Itachi as he numbly shook his head and shouted. "She hasn't done anything!!!" 

"That-… is a lie, Sasuke. Are you trying to fool your brother?" The older man almost wryly asked.

Sakura had quieted down. Her eyes closed against the embarrassment, the crumble of her dignity as a person. Being purposely exposed in front of a man she did not know. Having no choice but to succumb, to cooperate so that there might be a chance Sasuke-kun and her both would be spared.

_Soiled…_

_My body… will not be…_

…_the same._

Sakura fought to swallow the lump in her throat as another wet streak trickled down her cheek and against the cold man's hand.

But as hard as it was for her to accept this defilement, the girl's heart was big enough to empathize even in such a situation.

_Sasuke-kun is suffering… just like me. _The girl thought. And that alone, made her want to be stronger. For the boy and for herself.

_For Sasuke-kun, I'm willing to go through anything._

_Anything at all. _

"She has changed you, Sasuke. How can you tell me that she has done nothing? … This girl is the reason why my plans to shape you have failed." Itachi said in a low, cold voice.

The girl pushed out a soft sob as the older Uchiha's fingers raked across one thigh, pulling her underwear to the ground. Sakura forced out the repulsion, shutting her eyes as the flustered heat of shame came across her cheeks. Inside, she was preparing herself for what she knew would inevitably come.

_I wanted Sasuke-kun…_

… _to be the first one for me._

"I'm sorry… Sasuke-kun." The girl whispered, barely audible now because her throat had dried and her body trembled from fear.

The boy lifted his moist eyes to her face, and the girl could only watch the blood trailing down the bridge of his nose.

"Kill me." Sasuke suddenly said.

And the girl's eyes widened as Itachi's hand gripped tighter to her throat. She cringed as the blood shot up to her temples painfully. "No." she barely choked out.

"Kill me, nii-san. Because you are stronger, and I will never be able to outdo you. Just kill me. It was a mistake to leave me alive."

"What are you saying…" The genjutsu-user's eyes narrowed as he hissed.

"Let her go. And you can do what you should have done a long time ago. With me." The boy's voice was firm as he looked at his brother. "You say I'm weak. I've disappointed you and I don't deserve to live…"

Sasuke felt the blow to his pride as he spoke the words. But, he didn't care anymore.

Even if he could force himself to care, he wouldn't.

Because he was no longer more important than everyone else, and Sakura had opened his eyes.

He could only take comfort in the fact that he knew more than Itachi ever would… of happiness and love.

He only wished Sakura would continue living, to move on even if he was gone.

_And I pity you… who know nothing. _Sasuke silently told his brother.

…

But Itachi did know better.

"You really are foolish, Sasuke. Do you really think, I will let her live… Even after I have killed you?" The man murmured.

Sasuke said nothing to this.

His gaze settled not on his brother.

Only at the girl held in his grasp.

The one who had taught him everything.

Taught him to live.

"…You WILL learn to hate again." The older brother resolutely stated, and his eyes glimmered with the lights of fireflies.

"I will make sure of that."

And the last words had barely left the older brother's lips when he had swiped the sword back and then plunged the blunt handle between the girl's legs.

Sasuke had no time to react when the girl's scream had already echoed throughout the forest.

The younger Uchiha's hands gripped tight into the grass as the pain came, stunning him, worse than any physical injury could. "No." He barely choked out as all hope fled him and he could only watch as the girl's head bowed with silent sobs, her body jerking with the repeated stabs into her fragile body. Itachi's eyes were maddening power-hungry flashes, as he relished the moment of conquering her – and even more, of releasing Sasuke's hate.

"Sakura…" The boy trembled into the ground, and he felt the anger rise. Sharp and steady, gripping into his being until he could no longer take it. "SAKURA!!!" He shouted with a choked cry.

But the girl was broken, from the immense pain and trauma… no longer hearing anything. Only the numbness had settled in now, as she slumped against the man who had taken her. Her eyes lifted blearily to focus at the grass, and her fingers gave up fighting, dropping from his hands and swaying lifelessly against the tree.

The breaths…

She could feel the dull heart-beat thumping into her ears.

Was she still breathing?

Her green eyes travelled aimlessly along the ground, finally settling over Sasuke's pale, bloodied face as he shouted at her. And though the world was mute, she continued to watch him.

Her vision started to darken amidst slow speckles of white.

She didn't notice the man in front of her give a grunt of anger, didn't notice the way the sword's handle had pushed violently hard into her one last time, grinding with finality.

She barely felt the reflexive lift of her body into the tree at the outright invasion.

Her world darkened, and as the comforting blackness settled, she mouthed the one name that meant everything to her…

"Sasuke-… kun…" A breath of a whisper.

Her pink hair came forward and soon her head dropped limply.

* * *

"Three troops. All my men Tsunade, I need them!" The ANBU captain almost shouted into the headset as they stalked out of the inn. 

"I can't do that!" The female voice barked into the earphones. "Half of them are away on random missions!"

"Get them together!" The crass captain uttered. He quickened his pace with a run and flicked at the headset. "This is urgent, hokage-sama!"

"Impossible!" The woman declared in a loud authoritative voice. "We have allegiances to other villages at stake here. We can't throw away these other missions for the sake of two Akatsuki members!"

"A life has been lost." The captain steadily said into the mic. "An innocent villager of the leaf, Tsunade-sama. Please."

"… One team." The hokage said after a pause, and the static crackled as the four men jogged through the festival grounds. "One team is all I can manage, Keska…. Please, understand my situation."

"Hokage-sama… We'll need at least two medics to bring back the girl's body as well." Daisuke hesitantly interjected as he side-stepped a child with a balloon and ice-cream cone.

"Yes. I can arrange that." The hokage affirmed with broken fluctuations of the receiver.

Kakashi gestured for Atom to hand over his headset, and the bear-like jounin gave a nod.

"Tsunade-sama…" The elite teacher said into the mic, "One team will be appreciated. Thank you."

"Hatake Kakashi? …" the woman's voice rose, "…This is my concern, where is your student, Naruto?"

The copy-ninja lowered his eye before he answered, "I… I'm not certain of his whereabouts as of now, Tsunade-sama."

The voice on the other end remained silent for a moment, until the static crackled back to life.

"Please… be careful. I trust that you all come back safely, Kakashi… Everyone…"

Daisuke's eyes studied the dark grounds for chakra residue as they drifted past the lively booths and entered the trails towards the forest. The blue-haired jounin looked around - scanning the stone path, the torches, and the trees ahead. And then he'd turned back to the three other men with a nod, gesturing them forward into the tall grass.

"Goodluck…." The authoritative voice from Konoha finally said. And then the green glow of the reception was gone, and the black headset was dead.

"Sometimes…" the captain mumbled as he skipped over a rock and ducked sideways from a bramble, "I really wonder if that woman gives a shit about us."

Daisuke gave a dull snicker and Atom refuted it with a solid slap over his comrade's head and a slightly offended expression.

"Agh damn oxymoron! That fuckin' hurts."

"Don't call me that. You're not my captain."

"For kami's sake, dolts… shut the fuck up."

And then Daisuke's hand had interrupted the captain, slicing through the air as he froze - signaling for the rest of the conversation to halt as well.

"I see something different." The purple-eyed jounin whispered.

"Everyone… Chakra levels down." Kakashi softly murmured.

"I call them dolts, but my men aren't stupid, copy-boy." Keska drawled as he slipped his sheathed katana out into the open. The captain pushed the small blade between his teeth as his muscles flexed, hands lowering to gather at his holster in preparation.

"Bull-fuck slaughter begins." Keska mumbled between the cold steel in his lip.

And as if on cue, a resounding scream echoed in the not-too-far distance piercing the grounds around them. And the gray-haired jounin pushed up sharply with a silent intake of breath, his beady eye widening.

"Sakura." He snatched out with a breath.

"We're going in…" The 21 year old captain beside him hissed out in a low voice.

And the blades of grass whipped back as the four men disappeared into the trees, away from the revealing light of the moon.

* * *

The blonde hokage leaned forward into her chair, mountains of green robe piling over the desk as she clasped her hands to her chin in worried thought. 

Behind her, Shizune was idly pacing, wringing her hands together as she studied the makings of the familiar office. Beside the window, the pet pig Ton-ton was gracelessly plopped, one hoof kicking out at the glass in repeated thumps.

"Uwehh." The pink pet grunted, its crinkled eyes settling over her black-haired care-taker.

"Tsunade-sama…" The apprentice turned to the hokage with a slight bob of head. "Are you certain Hatake Kakashi and the rest of them will be okay?"

"Of course, one can never be certain… Shizune." The blonde girl sighed as she leaned back into the upholstered swivel chair with a creak.

"But we have no choice. And with the skills they possess…. Especially Hatake Kakashi and Hayai Keska… I have learned to place my trust in them."

"Forgive me, hokage-sama, for my bluntness… but I have no reason to suspect there is anything special about the captain…" Shizune almost wrinkled her nose in stark defiance as she took a seat across the hokage's table.

The young apprentice was only startled as she heard the Hokage's sudden bout of somber laughter fill the spaces of the cluttered room.

"Shizune…" The woman started with a small smile, and her hands carefully traced over the tea cup on her table before the woman pinched its handle and lifted the ceramic to her lips.

"I have seen the extent of that man's speed…" Tsunade said, before taking a small sip and setting the cup down with a mute clink. "Or rather… HAVEN'T seen it."

"Yes… but-" the black-haired woman remained apprehensive, worry stitching into her forehead as she slumped.

"-Though that is not really the reason why I trust him with this event's success…" The hokage quickly cut in with a sparkle in her eyes.

Shizune lifted her gaze at the blonde woman behind the table.

Her curiosity was at its peak in that one moment, seeing the certainty in the older woman's golden flecks.

"That rude, mannerless boy was made an ANBU captain at his age for a reason…" Tsunade said as she leaned across the table and laced her fingers to her chin, "His speed is one thing… But because of it, Captain Keska has managed to sign a summoning contract with a creature nobody has even dreamed possible."

…_A creature nobody has even dreamed possible?_

Shizune's body came forward as her interest heightened. "What-… what is it?"

The hokage pushed a hand under her chin and smiled at her apprentice before she spoke.

"He is the first to summon Time."

--

**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: **

**CURIOUS? I hope you are. CONFUSED? ... uh boy. im sorry. -slumps-**

**Haha… I don't know how you feel about this… but I'm beat. –laughs-**

**Took me a while to finish this chapter… I'm so very sorry. -bows- (-.-)**

**So if you love me… tell me what you think. Guesses for the next chappie are good too:D **

**I would like to say "big-phat thank you", to all my new reviewers. And an even bigger thank you PLUS invisible Sasuke-plushie for my faithful old reviewers who have always been there to inspire me. **

**If not for all of you old and new, this story would never have continued. Thank you so much… (.) Please accept my plushie –pushes floppy sasuke-kun to you-**


	33. SHOWDOWN

**Author's Notes:**

**WAhahaha!!! I'm back from the dead!!! **

**:girl's scream cheap-effects:**

**o.O**

**I hope you get this – quite confusing and lots of Keska. -to some people good, to others, just bad. LOL-**

**-shouts- KESKA'S A SPOTLIGHT HOGGER**

**Keska: shut the fuck up.**

**(-.-)" uwah.**

**ENJOY!!!! .**

CHAPTER 32:

The four men looked out across the densely forested area.

Slits of light from the pale moon shaped across the darkness of the grass as the captain made a silent touch to the ground. Daisuke landed beside him, followed by team seven's mentor and Atom.

"We should be careful, sempai, before we keep going." Daisuke's violet eyes caught what little light there was within the dense seclusion of shadow as he glanced at the gray-haired jounin.

Just as Kakashi gave a sharp nod and started to follow the younger shinobi, another shout echoed through the forest, quickly succeeding the first one from Sakura.

Daisuke almost faltered on the log he had leapt over, and his blue hair whipped across his face as he landed.

"Captain," he stumbled before turning, wide-eyed, at the man next to him. "Did you hear that?"

"What was that?" Atom asked as he landed lightly behind the three.

"I believe he said, 'Sakura'." Keska uttered with a tightly clenched jaw. And in the darkness his honey eyes moved swift with concern over his jounin friend's face.

"Sasuke…" Kakashi whispered with a faltering breath.

"Captain," Atom started, and the larger shinobi's beady eye darted to his commander, "you're faster than all of us, how about going ahead?"

"The psychotic bull-fuck uses genjutsu. And I have no plans of stepping into any of his traps. It's too much of a risk." Keska discreetly said. His eyebrows drew together as he pushed a hand out in emphasis and firmly looked up at them, "We move together. Remember, we work as a team. We plan as a team and that's our strength. Daisuke will be our eyes."

The purple eyed jounin swallowed and gave a firm nod in affirmation. "Yosh."

"Alright," Keska gave a tight smile, "let's go."

--

He was broken.

The grassy field in front of him turned into a blur as the raven-haired genin continued to numbly stare at the sight with wide, frozenly distraught eyes.

Complete shock swept through what was left of his alert consciousness, locking him down with bouts of quakes and giving his mind the sensation that it was somehow separated from his body. A droplet of blood trickled down the side of his face and streaked over the pale skin of his hand.

But Sasuke didn't notice.

_He used a sword…_The breathless voice of his mind shook him.

_The handle of a sword… on her…_

His breath came out with a shudder and Sasuke barely heard the Itachi bunshin behind him disappear with a dull pop, didn't even note the swirl of receding smoke along his peripheral vision.

How could he have stopped this from happening? Was there ever going to be a way?

He had done everything his brother wanted, had even begged in the process. His pride was cast out together with the rest of his regard for himself. He had been beaten to a bloody mess of broken bones and bruises, and Sakura…

His eyes closed as his jaw hardened.

Sakura had done nothing but tried to convince him of the truth.

_But he will never see it…_ Sasuke unfeelingly thought as the field swayed, _And I will never be able to get away from him. _

_Never. _

_Not until he is dead._

…**_Dead._**

The initial shock slowly lifted and Sasuke couldn't stop the thoughts from coming. Everything that he had somehow forgotten since Sakura had shown him happiness - The murderous intent, the domination of hostility, the sheer force of anger thumping into his consciousness, and unbeknownst to him, searing his irises a deep spiteful crimson.

The numbing sensation had dissipated and the raven-haired boy's head rose, stony eyes cutting into the man in the darkness, shaping him in his mind with the pounding rush of his desire to slay him.

The boy's breath came out slow, flatly forced as he scrunched into the grass. The rage tightened into his gut, and Sasuke knew he would never be able to undo this. This feeling.

Losing his happiness.

Gaining back his hatred.

Itachi's eyes came away from the unconscious girl in his grasp, looking across the field at the stirring movements of his younger brother's body.

Sasuke's pain was complete. He had taught him his lesson. A petty one compared to the massacre of the past. But perhaps now, his brother would remember the fate he had decided for him to pursue.

The fate that was only best for his little one.

And the older brother almost smiled at his accomplishment.

Without a flicker of being affected, Itachi pulled the bloody sword's handle from the small girl and her broken, limp body gave a hollow jerk as it dangled from his grasp.

In reaction, Itachi saw the boy's hands ball into the grass, tearing the blades away from the soil. And it was as good a time as it would ever be… to completely snap him.

The older man's voice broke into the heavy silence, fluid and emotionless as always.

"Now… Sasuke… I have taken everything you could have shared with this girl away from you. And perhaps… you should keep it in mind…" Itachi's lips parted with dead amusement.

"… How a sword has replaced you to be this pathetic ones first… lover."

The words struck Sasuke and the boy's eyelashes fell shut against his crimson glare as his body shook with bursts of rage. His hair slipped across his bleeding cheek and he could only do so much to restrain the strangled hiss of retorting.

Itachi unceremoniously wiped the bloody sword against the material of Sakura's kimono. And then the older brother's tight grip over her neck had loosened.

Without so much as a blink, he released Sakura. Letting the girl's body crumple into the ground at the base of the tree.

Her pink hair fell across pale skin, even now, catching the glow of the moon's light. One arm slipped from its precarious awkward position over her back and thumped down to the grass.

She didn't stir.

Sasuke felt a tightening at his throat as his eyes rested over Sakura's unconscious form.

And the image sealed itself into his mind. He would never forget.

The rage was complete.

His eyes flickered with vehemence over his brother's towering form.

The man who had destroyed his life and taken his joy… twice.

"…I hate you." He evenly whispered.

The low growl greeted heavy silence and Sasuke's heart hardened with the conviction of it.

Chills might have swept through him.

But the boy felt nothing – because every part of Sasuke was now becoming immune to it.

The cold.

His red eyes narrowed with startling iciness as he continued to glare.

Seeing the stony look that greeted him, Itachi finally took a full breath, closing his eyes at the invisible thrill of success. Pain was only necessary.

Itachi gave a slight smile.

"Good." He murmured.

And barely a second after the word was out, the sound of a twig snapping somewhere to his older brother's left forced Sasuke's glare to cut sideways.

The leaves gave a slight rustle to the brush of heavy cloak as a form shifted within the groves.

"Itachi-san…" came an almost drunken croon.

The older Uchiha slowly turned his head to blink in the direction of the trees, and the hovering silhouette of the tall, broad-shouldered Akatsuki predator greeted him, undetectable as it stood wedged between shadowed bark.

"Have you done anything with him?" The smaller man asked, directing his attention away from Sasuke as he turned and moved silently towards his partner.

"No…"

Sasuke saw the flash of sharp slim teeth as it caught at pale light. And then the sickly blue lips hidden within shade had slowly widened into a playful smile.

"…But I can only hold off for so long…"

The boy's gray irises caught the same crimson patterned clouds printed on the man's robe and his silent, hard gaze moved up as Kisame broke away from the concealment of shadows.

The man was carrying a large bundle in his arms. Silver eyes glinted and the man dropped the small weight with a dull thump.

One orange-jacketed hand slipped out into the clearing's light and Sasuke's crimson stare widened.

_Na…ruto…_

"It would only be a hindrance…" Itachi said in a low voice, "… if we took the boy with us. We can perform the release here and leave the physical body behind."

_What? _Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

_What was he talking about? Why do they have Naruto??_

"Are you sure, Itachi, that it is safe enough to perform here?" The shark slowly drawled.

"If anyone should come by, then I will know about it." the dark-haired Akatsuki member said.

"Heh? Have you got another something planned?" Kisame gave him a knowing sneer.

"I am resisting the urge to use my eyes for a reason, Kisame. To conserve my chakra…. Because I have set up another genjutsu trap a few meters from this clearing. Should any meddling person step into it,…" His solid black gaze lifted, "-I will immediately know. And once that happens, we shall have to make our escape… with Naruto."

Sasuke could no longer keep listening. His arms trembled with the pain and weight of raising himself from the ground, but his mind was only consumed with thoughts of his teammates. Even now.

"What… are you going to do…" came the breathless question that interrupted the conversation.

Both men turned to Sasuke as he pushed himself up to a weak stand.

"What are you going to do with Naruto." The boy whispered, and the shadows moved across his lips as he straightened and raised his head.

At the stated question, Kisame's mouth pushed out into a glinting grin. "Ho… you left Uchiha-chan alive." The man's voice swung playfully, "how nice of you, …. Itachi-san."

"This has nothing to do with you, Sasuke." Came the murmur of the older brother as his eyes calmly studied the wavering form of the boy.

"I said - what are you going to do with him!!" The genin lost control and vehemently snarled.

Kisame had quickly lost interest in the smaller Uchiha. And the shark slowly turned to face his partner, thoughts of Sasuke gone from his mind.

"Do you have enough chakra to perform the release?"

"I have just enough." Itachi mutely answered him.

_He's low on chakra and Sakura is already a few feet away from harm. _

Sasuke's mind silently assessed the situation and he felt his fists clench.

_I'll take him now. The seal …_

_No. _His eyes narrowed.

_I don't need the seal. It will only be trouble._

_I have to do it now.._

The genin felt the adrenaline course through him, and as the last thought finalized, Sasuke made up his mind.

Without another sound, he had pushed the last of his fading chakra tank and shot forward.

_Now!!!_

Sasuke cut across the field. His eyes swept towards Sakura.

_Don't let Itachi get to her!_

His palms came together. His hands formed the seals.

_Ox-Ram-Dragon…!!_

A small boulder greeted him. Sasuke's foot pushed off it and he was in the air.

Fingers blending fluid to the release of the jutsu.

_Hare-Bird-Tiger!!!_

His crimson gaze widened, and the tomoes swirled frantically as he charged.

His palms slammed together. Pressing the release. And as he swept his left arm out and saw his brother's head whip sideways, he heard the twittering cries. The third time. His last time.

_One thousand birds._

_Don't fail me._ He silently prayed as his eyes closed for a brief moment - Opened in foggy scarlet.

_DON'T FAIL ME!!!_

Itachi's head seemed to move in slow motion, solid black onyx meeting gracefully with the soaring form of the genin.

"HAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" Sasuke's voice growled out, and he whipped his arm forward.

"CHIIIDORIII…. !!!!"

The boy flew forward, flickers of sharp, blue lightning zipping past blurs of grass, aiming a fatally large spear straight towards his brother…

-And then an interruption - A flash of broad white and a sharp rustle of pattered, red clouds cutting in front of his vision.

A whistle of sound sliced close to his ear – a whispered growl between sharp teeth.

"Nuisance."

That one word.

And then a swiping whoosh.

Automatically, both of Sasuke's legs buckled, his body surprising him with a now-lost control over his muscles. His knees hardened, paralyzed and the boy stumbled, pummeling skin and bone into dirt.

At the same time, the technique faded from his left palm - fizzling into darkness as he landed with a skidding collapse, less than a meter away from the pink-haired kunoichi's body.

His ribs thumped hard and he drew another painful gasp – one faltering breath that silently told him that he had pushed his abilities too far… too hard, this time.

The chirps of Chidori dwindled into a dull echo, and then there was nothing but the sound of his body's limp thump as it rolled with lost impact, flattening the grass underneath him.

_Not… done… _His mind still stubbornly insisted amidst the foggy drowsiness.

_I'm not done…_

He wasn't about to give in.

_I can't… give up…_

_Sakura… is… _

On grinding reflex, Sasuke willed himself to get up.

But even as his legs made to push off, he only collapsed again, sprawling with frustration over wet grass.

His arms spread out and Sasuke finally stopped moving, panting now because the air was scarce.

He couldn't… His eyes closed…

Anymore…

The frustration overtook the boy to the point that pain strangled his throat.

… His body had finally given up on him.

Sasuke's face pushed relentlessly into the dirt and he shuddered with finality as he felt the last of his strength abandon him. Slipping away and leaving him cold, broken, feeling strangely half-past dead.

_No… _

_-No more…chakra._

"… Heh. Game over, little Uchiha-chan." The shark chuckled darkly.

Sasuke's weak gaze flickered up as he saw the man straighten from his earlier attack stance.

In his hands, he gripped a large, gauze-wrapped broad-sword and Sasuke continued to stare as it glowed with swirls of blue. Small jutting formations crunched and shivered within the wrapping, as if savoring, chewing at his strength and draining him.

_That… sword…_

_The sword… took my chakra._

Sasuke slowly blinked. And it was surprisingly quick, how he now felt nothing but numbness sweep through him. Even his mind seemed to slip into darkness, refusing to think anymore.

No more.

Kisame stepped forward, and his grin twisted down into a terrifying scowl.

"Better dead, isn't it, Uchiha-chan? – than what you are now feeling?"

One sandaled foot kicked sharply at the raven-haired genin, and the boy vaguely felt the jerk that caused his back to press against startling softness.

_Sakura._

The name forced breath into his lungs.

"Maybe I should go ahead and end your misery." The shark droned.

Sasuke heard the words… But he could will no reaction now.

Even when his lifeless gray eyes focused on the slowly rising weapon… threatening to come down on him.

Sasuke no longer had the urge to move.

Everything in him seemed to be shutting down.

And the boy didn't even know it, - because his thoughts were blurs of irrationality… But that he had spoken despite it all…

"Don't…" his breath stirred weak at the grass.

"Don't…hurt her…"

The faint sound floated lost in the dull wind as the bandaged sword sliced through the silhouette of the white moon in the sky - suspended for a moment as the shark leered.

"That's enough." Itachi firmly cut in.

The shark paused with Samehada still raised, as he glanced at his partner.

Finally, after a moment's hesitation, the blue-skinned ninja lowered the broadsword and pulled away with a sigh of boredom.

"Ah, we should be starting anyway." The predator mumbled.

The smaller man was already crouched near the Kyuubi vessel.

And with a final depreciative glance at the younger Uchiha, the shark tore away with a snort.

Sasuke's body grew heavy and he slumped sideways. He was angled just enough so one eye could peer out amidst fallen black hair…

At the gray kimono beside him.

His eyes traveled up to the pale slit of light framing the side of her face and the thick fan of delicate eyelashes…

The shimmer of a moist tear-track down her jaw…

His gray irises dulled as his gaze inched over her unconscious face.

Sakura always cried too much… when she was with him.

… _Sakura… _His mind whispered the name.

…

_I…_

His eyelids lowered to half-slits and he felt his heart beat slow in his ears.

He could no longer move.

His body was useless now…

HE was useless now.

… _I'm… _

…_sorry._

Sasuke's face sunk with regret.

The girl's eyebrows were drawn together in a reminiscing image of unsettled pain. And her usually blooming cheeks of pink…

Pale…

His eyes settled over the rise and fall of her chest.

But … alive.

Instinctively, he jerked to reach out to her. But his limbs refused to let him.

And at the helplessness, Sasuke again felt his vision blurring.

But the boy continued to look at her. The only way he could still find her and hold on to her…

And he didn't know how long he stayed that way, just blinking, exhausted, unmoving, unfeeling.

And then with one last sweeping gaze, his eyes finally lost the battle and closed.

--

"There!" Atom's voice whispered as they came across a small clearing.

Within the concealment of trees and shadows the four men each hid themselves and their chakra.

Kakashi landed silently before he pressed his back over tree bark and peered out.

His eye widened as he caught the sight of the familiar navy-blue yukata, and a little way ahead, the slumped-over form of Sakura and her distinct pink-hair.

His throat tightened at the motionlessness of both their bodies.

"My students…" the gray-haired jounin whispered.

But before the man could move, a hand had landed hard over his shoulder.

"Sempai… please, restrain yourself." Daisuke's low voice slowly eased.

"We should move now!" Atom tore out shrilly. "-we should get Kakashi-sempai's students!"

"No. Wait…" Keska's voice solidified. He raised one arm in pause as his honey eyes regarded Daisuke and the young jounin's purplish gaze swept out over the field.

"It's not them." The blue-haired ninja said.

Kakashi lifted his gaze away from the clearing and turned to the younger man. "… What do you see?"

"… It's… a trap." Daisuke whispered.

"-What?!" Atom quietly tore out.

"That son of a bitch." Keska muttered. Only lifting his hardened gaze when the copy ninja gave him a look.

"I don't mean it that way, and you know it." The captain quickly provided.

His head turned to each of the four silent men.

"We need a plan for this…" He started. "Our strong point of attack in this current situation is the element of surprise. So here's what I got…"

The three men leaned in towards the captain.

--

"What do you mean, Tsunade-sama… that Keska can summon Time?" Shizune asked.

"I thought shinobi were limited to summoning creatures?" Her black eyes blinked in confusion as she settled back into the chair across the hokage's table.

"Shizune." The golden-haired woman leaned into the table, "You are familiar with the greater shinobi, being able to summon the god of death, yes?"

"That creature, the Shinigami… How the sandaime lost his life, of course, Tsunade-sama."

"Well," the hokage laced her fingers to her chin, "Time is just yet another creature that runs this world… just like the shinigami, who is a bringer of death. What causes this whole world to move, Shizune, is the passing of seconds, minutes and hours, am I right?"

"Yes…?" The black-haired girl hesitantly provided.

"Answer with conviction." The hokage's golden gaze hardened. "And I will explain further."

"Hai! Hokage-sama!" The apprentice affirmed with a flustered bow.

"Then,… that is exactly why nobody has ever seen Time, itself." Tsunade closed her eyes and crossed her legs. "Because we move only fast enough to notice its passing."

"I…" Shizune faltered, "I understand little…"

"Then I will keep explaining until you get it." The green-robed woman barked, feeling her uncontrollable impatience rise as she scrunched into the table.

"That is also exactly why only Hayai Keska has been able to sign a contract with the creature, because the captain's speed is much faster then even Rock Lee without those confounded weights…" Tsunade lifted her head, "Keska can do something even Lee will never be able to do. Because of his clan's bloodline-limit, that man is able to breach the barriers of speed with his ninjutsu technique." Tsunade gave Shizune a meaningful, golden stare before she continued speaking.

"When Keska is past that barrier… he will be able to SEE the creature – Time – just as it passes."

The hokage watched her apprentice's black eyes fill with light.

"I see." The girl murmured with a slow nod.

"But, Tsunade-sama… does that mean the captain is able to control Time…?"

The black haired girl suddenly straightened in her chair with another thought.

"Can he bring back Yume-san!?" She asked with wide eyes.

The hokage gave her a sad smile and shook her blonde head. The apprentice slumped.

"Shizune…" the blonde-haired woman softly spoke, "Nobody can bring back the dead. They would not be as they were in life. Only empty shells of bodies."

"-But he can control Time." The apprentice insisted, "He must be able to tell the creature to step backwards?"

"Bakaero!" The hokage declared, slamming her tea-cup down with emphasis. "Once Time has passed, the world has already changed, and it cannot undo its own passing. Do you understand?"

The black-haired apprentice lowered her head in resignation.

"…So what can Keska do with that kind of creature?" the girl murmured in question as she glanced at the hokage.

"Well," Tsunade looked at her apprentice.

And then she grinned. "…He can order for it to stop walking."

"That's… it?" The girl raised a quizzical brow. And then her face slowly cleared.

"… Stop the passing of Time…" Her lips slowly pulled up in a quirked smile. "How… odd."

"Yes." The hokage rubbed at her temples as she settled back wearily.

"A very odd summon."

--

Keska's eyes flickered up towards Daisuke, "Lilac, you say the real Itachi is a few meters ahead?"

"Yes, sir." The younger jounin affirmed. "You should be able to see him, once we've passed this whole area of genjutsu."

"Mah - if we dispel the genjutsu, then we won't have the time to get to Uchiha Itachi. The man would have already escaped." Kakashi silently murmured.

"Ah, fuckbit, we have no choice," Keska said with a sigh, and his amber eyes scrutinized the clearing with a keen sweep before he turned to the pepper-haired jounin. "I'll distract the real Itachi long enough for all of you to haul ass there…"

Kakashi's eye fastened on the captain significantly.

"You… are going to call it?"

"I haven't seen IT in a while, copy-boy…." The captain pushed up to his feet and held a hand out for the jounin on the ground to grab. Kakashi gripped the hand and Keska pulled him up.

"I might as well say hello." The captain grinned.

Daisuke pushed up and his purple eyes widened. "Keska-senpai, you mean… you'll be summoning Ji-"

"DON'T call me Sen-fuck-… If I hear that word one more time, Lilac-boy I swear to the thriving kaimas I'll feed them your ass. –Yes..!" Keska snapped, and his eyes fell shut, resigned.

"I'm summoning Jikoku."

The blue-haired jounin cowered at his future captain's tone of authority. And the man took a step towards the burly-frame of Atom.

Kakashi raised a wrinkled forehead of concern. "Be careful, Keska."

"Gods in mount-kami, you're a sap." The captain muttered. And with drawn eyebrows he looked them all over. "Alright, you know your parts…"

The ANBU commander stepped a bit away from them, and he gave a nodding grin as he extracted what looked like five exploding curse papers from his drawstring shinobi pants.

Kakashi's eye widened considerably as he saw the papers. The familiarity of it came rushing back.

_He still uses that technique… _

"If you dolts don't mind, I'm going to look like a sexy suicidal fuck for a very brief moment." Keska flatly stated.

Atom raised an eyebrow as the captain unzipped his black ANBU turtle-neck and tossed it at him.

"Hold on to that for me." Keska muttered as he bit at his thumb and readied the blood compact.

And then he'd taken the five curse papers and slapped each one firmly over his bare skin. Two to the arms and three along the planes of his chest and stomach.

"Captain… what are you-?"

"-Only way I can make sure they will be intact after I summon. Now shut up." The man cut Daisuke off.

Before anyone else could say anything, the captain had pressed his hands together and closed his eyes. With one fluid gesture of a hand he'd formed a blur of seals, and as his fingers came to rest on the final seal of the Bird, all the cursed papers' tips ignited with a sudden burst of flame.

Atom's beady eyes shot open, "Capt-!"

"-See you dolts in a second… Literally." Keska grinned, and then the man formed another twelve consecutive hand signs in a fragment of a second, slamming his hands down over the ground to the spread of glowing, yellow insignia…

"Jikoku Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he murmured.

A burst of smoke gushed in a rapid hissing circle and Kakashi watched the captain as his form disappeared with sharp slashes of lines, bit by bit of him breaking past the speed barrier and into the realm of Time.

And then Keska and the flaming curse papers were gone.

--

"Isn't it fatal, though, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune now padded towards the small wooden coffee table at the side of the first towering bookshelf.

"After all, summoning a death god requires a deal for your soul."

The golden eyes rose and the blonde-haired hokage looked at her apprentice as the woman poured herself a cup of steaming tea.

"Every brilliant technique indeed does come with a price. In the realm of Time, everything except for the correspondence between the creature and Keska stops, including his watch, his radio head-set,… any external object, even his body. So when he returns to this realm, his physical composition becomes delayed. Put simply," Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes, "With excessive use, the damage to his cells will eventually cost him his life."

Shizune's eyes closed and she slowly lowered into her chair.

"… Do you think Captain Keska will have to use the technique?" she asked.

The hokage's stare focused intently on the wall next to her oak doors.

And then she spoke.

"… Itachi's Sharingan will be able to predict Keska's movements. However, he might not be able to react to the predictions in time." The hokage smiled, "Keska might not have to summon Time. If all goes smoothly."

--

Swirling pulses of blue that wove in and out of spaces greeted the crouched captain. Under him, he could see endlessness and eternity spiraling every which way.

Around him there was no solidity.

Nothing but pure thrums of blue light, flickers of dark shapes with odd angles, portals that came and went.

Pure vertigo because there was no sky, nor ground.

Yes.

Keska wanted to throw up.

"Fuckin' mad-hole. Oi, Jikoku-Oji!" The captain crossed his arms and bent his head sideways to look around.

Briefly he remembered the papers activated on his body, and the captain tilted his face down to peer at the curses as he distractedly chewed at his inner cheek.

Yep. All five were burnt half-way through, the orange-yellow fire frozen in mid-flicker.

Time had already stopped. The captain lifted his head, and his amber eyes looked around.

It was already here then.

Whatever Jikoku was… That faceless, shapeless, sexless creature- … He, she, it…

"You-!" Keska suddenly piped when the familiar small swirl erupted in smoking clouds inches from his nose.

He took a large step back and fought to hold in the lurch of his stomach as the endless floor greeted his vision.

The captain cringed and closed his eyes.

"For fuck's sake, old man," Keska almost whined, "My mind's not used to this blackness-every-which-way-forever land of yours…"

The man ran a hand over his stomach, trying to mentally undo the knots inside.

"Oji- … Give me something firm to step on."

Just as the words left the commander's lips, a ground slipped under his feet, and the endless blue vortex faded into a frozen version of the forest area. The smoke cleared and Keska raised his eyes to scrutinize the thing in front of him.

"It."

It was everywhere and everything, and every which way all at once.

It had no shape and it took the form of every shape at the same time.

It wasn't like anything the ANBU captain ever saw in his world, and he found no words to really describe…

"It."

Keska stared at Jikoku and blinked until he felt his stomach give another lurch. "Mmph…"

The man finally turned away with a queasy tightening of lip, hand clutching to his neck.

"Human…" The low eruption came and rumbled from everywhere.

"The only one who's ever seen you." Keska managed to provide smugly with a semi-smirk on his face.

"Why have you called?" came the tremble.

"Can you-…" The captain pressed a hand roughly to his face, "-fuck you're making me sick… At least give me some solid shape of your body to look at."

"You dare order… JIKOKU… guardian of the four cardinal corners-"

"Please." Keska held out one arm, with a wrinkled cringe, "Please… do me this favor, Oji, and present yourself to me in a form I can look at. Tabun." The man pushed his palms together in a careless prayer-like clasp and raised his amber irises.

Silence.

And then an outline seemed to gather a comforting kind of solidity, inching itself out of shadows and nothingness and emerging as something soothing for Keska's eyes to settle on.

The white, bent over mask with hollow cut-out eyes, the tattered cloak of weaving black and gray, the fashioned tusk-like horns and shags of feathered hairs worn around its shoulders like a furred coat.

The essential scroll bearing his status in the world, tied with over-sized black beads around its neck…

"Somewhat better." The captain mused. And he pushed an arm to his waist, glancing up now at the shape of a face tilting down at him.

"Human, you have stopped my endless travel… the purpose being?"

"I need to get somewhere, and you'll have to follow me." Keska answered.

"Nnnn… JIKOKU follows no human-"

"-You signed a freakin' contract, man. Don't give me that…" the captain wearily said. "You said I amuse you, right? So you agreed you wanted to see me every now and then. Please," Keska gave a slight bow – though he wasn't sure Jikoku cared for such respectful gestures - "…Lend me your services."

The creature's head lowered in thought before one tattered left side of his cloak rose to point beyond the trees.

"…Them?" The creature asked in his hoarse low voice.

The brown-haired ANBU elite turned his head to look and saw the slumped over, frozen forms of Hatake's students in the grass.

The genjutsu illusion Uchiha Itachi had so conveniently provided for viewing pleasure.

"No." Keska shook his head. "No… That's false imagery. Follow me, Oji…"

The captain gave a grin when the creature slowly nodded, and together, they moved across the forest.

"…You're colors have changed…" Jikoku rumbled as his skull-like mask scrutinized the Anbu captain's torso.

"Yes…" Keska gave a brief smile as he kept walking past frozen blades of grass, "It's called half-naked and flaming."

The captain saw the end of the genjutsu illusion, when he glanced up at the point in the trees where the colors slowly blurred, and then rejoined clearly in the next wide expanse of field.

"Yes, it should be here." The 21-year old made his way past a tree and peered out into darkness.

What he saw past the trunks made his eyes widen.

There were not two, but three of Hatake's students in the field.

And there was not one, but two other figures with them.

One was frozen mid-walk across the grassy field, the pale blue skin and the patterned robe…

The Fish.

And the other…

The captain's eyes moved over the smaller man. And his honey gaze narrowed into a hardened glare.

Uchiha Itachi.

"What the hell are those bull-fucks doing?" Keska mumbled.

"Shall I take you further?" Jikoku lowered his unmoving mouth and seemed to glance out with empty sockets at the young boy.

"You can start on your happy journey of endless walking again, when I tell you to." The commander murmured as he broke away distractedly and scrutinized the clearing.

"You are aware that you cannot alter or move those external humans…" Time slowly warned as his echoing voice surrounded all sides of the forest.

Keska gave him a furtive glance.

"I am very well aware, old man. Thanks. I just needed you to give me my Element of Surprise…"

He grinned as he lowered and gave Uchiha Itachi's frozen, worn-looking face a once-over.

"And it's gonna be a fuckin' whop of a surprise." He whispered with a fierce glint, biting his inner cheek to resist from giving the man a deliciously-packed fist to the face.

After a moment, during which the captain had silently lowered his head to think out a strategy, he finally gave a sigh and looked up at his hovering summon.

"… I give you the permission to depart." Keska loudly started, and then his face tightened as he gave the creature the familiar count down.

"Depart in… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

Jikoku gave a slow nod and disappeared.

Keska watched everything slip back into motion, and as he felt the breeze building and the cricket sounds rushing back, he heard the sudden crackling of the curse papers continuing their half-way burn.

It was time.

Keska cracked three hand seals and released his first jutsu – "Curse transfer-" He muttered.

The five papers disappeared from his skin and re-appeared in the same places around Itachi's body, underneath the man's black cloak.

And then the Uchiha Itachi gave his first blink - which appeared deliciously slow to the ANBU commander's advantage, and Keska took the opportunity to begin the release of his bloodline limit.

Hands came together, blurring with a frenzied twelve seal combination - And then he'd slammed his palms together, releasing an overwhelming amount of blue chakra.

"Time-split. Delay." Keska spoke low, closing his eyes and releasing the jutsu.

Itachi didn't know what had hit him.

This one second of time seemed different from the last.

Because now there was a sense of dread that something with dominating chakra – not belonging to their demon – was lingering in the forest with them.

And then he heard the trickling voice next to his ear.

"Over."

_What??_

Before the genjutsu-user could fathom the familiarity of that low, arrogant voice from his younger days, everything around him slowed. The sway of the trees and grass moved with unusual grace, the wind solidified into whispers over his skin… and then… something had swooped down fast in front of his vision.

Itachi snatched his head lower with widening eyes…

The space of empty, rumpled grass in front of his crouched form - …

Naruto was gone.

"What-" The older Uchiha had barely gotten to vehemently whispering when an explosion erupted over his skin. And everything turned painful and orange.

--

Kakashi's head lifted at the explosion and he whipped around to the two men with a nodding signal to move.

"The genjutsu is broken." Daisuke chased out as his eyes gave a final sweep over the area.

The trees changed. And the shapes of Sasuke and Sakura lying, seemingly dead over the grass, soon blended with the darkness and disappeared into the shadows of the leaves.

"That's affirmed. Okay, let's move." The gray-haired jounin said in second authority.

The two jounin followers gave firm nods and the three men shot forward into darkness.

--

Keska leapt back as the explosion erupted and he landed lightly a few meters into the edge of the clearing, gathering the unconscious blonde genin in his arms.

"Wake up, kid!" The brown-haired ANBU captain called down at the cradled bundle.

The whiskered ninja in the orange jacket didn't budge.

"KID!!!" Keska clenched his teeth and he gave Naruto a hard shake, "Wake –…fuckin' damn!!"

He shot up sharply as a broad-sword crashed down over the grass in front of him with enough force to pummel a small hole into the mossy earth.

A pebble skittered across the captain's cheek and he cringed as he leapt back a few feet to stare at the towering blue-skinned man in front.

"Hand over the Kyuubi vessel…" Kisame growled, and his silver eyes glinted with maddening rage as his blue hair bristled.

"Heh… Hostile, aren't we." Keska taunted and his eyes darkened.

The shark didn't have time to retort, because he had snatched his head up as a ball of spikes flew over Keska's form, hurtling straight at the Akatsuki member.

"Grrrraaaaahh.." The tall missing-nin roared, dodging sideways as the metal spikes plunged into ground, barely pinning down his robe.

"Captain!" Atom shouted as he retracted his metal limb and reached forward with one fleshy arm.

"Give Naruto to me."

"Where's Daisuke!" Keska tilted his head back without taking his eyes off the shark.

"Here… Sir!" The purple-eyed jounin appeared with a blurred leap to the ground. "Sir-" he panted, "leave him to us."

"…Alright-" The brown-haired commander nodded.

Kisame let out another hair-stiffening growl as he swiped his sword out and Keska dodged sideways, quickly pushing the fox-ninja into Atom's large burly arms. "Let anything happen to him," the man's honey eyes solidified as he stole a look at them, "-and you're both out of the team, you got th-"

The bandaged sword came down and the young captain cut his sentence short with a hardened jaw as the dirt flew up in all directions with a mixed sound of dead corals crunching.

"…Fuckin' fish." Keska swore as he extracted his short katana and whipped out its crimson handle.

"HA..HA!" The shark ninja let out a surprisingly hearty laugh as the captain held out the gleaming blade.

"With that?" The menacing eyes narrowed, "You mean to kill me?"

"-Or this." Came another flat voice beside the shark.

Kisame barely had time to turn his head sideways when a solid elbow connected with the side of his neck in such bruising impact that the Akatsuki member lilted sideways with a sway and stumbled into the ground.

Kakashi stood bent in front of him with an arched gray eyebrow.

His eye solidified with the terrifying weight of his anger.

"You…" Kisame gave a teetering voracious roar. And the man pushed himself up with an ugly twist of clashing pale-skin. "How can you be... aliv-"

"-In the first fight, I had studied your clone's techniques…" The jounin cut him off quietly, raising a gloved hand to his slanted forehead protector.

"And I should warn you…" The resolute dark eye cast the shark a look.

"…I don't fall for the same tactic twice."

The shark clenched his piranha teeth as the pepper-haired man pulled up at the cloth to reveal his hidden skill. Kakashi's left eye opened to the sharpening sweep of three imprinted dots amidst a blood-red iris.

"You're supposed … to be DEAD." The predatory missing-nin snarled with a clash of sharp teeth.

"The Leaf… is stronger than you think." Kakashi mutely provided with a raise of hardened onyx.

"Fish- is all yours, copy-boy." The brown-haired ANBU captain drawled with a quick, sloppy salute.

Then he made to turn to the two other unconscious genin.

But the young commander's smile disappeared when his eyes caught the shadow to the far left, rising out of the curse explosion's smoke.

_Itachi. _The honey eyes widened with a raise of brown eyebrows.

_Son of a … Still alive-_

… _Huh –_

The captain almost grinned.

_Tough skin._

"Keska!"

The captain whipped his head sideways at the gray-haired jounin who had called him.

"If he uses his sharingan…" Kakashi warned, "Don't look into his eyes."

"Oh come-effin' …You think sparring all those years with you wasn't enough to teach me that shit?" The ANBU commander lowered with a wide smirk.

"Don't kid me." He whispered.

And then he'd shot forward with the blade held out, making a bee-line towards the smaller Akatsuki member.

--

"Naruto-san."

The fox-ninja stirred at the firm call of voice.

"Naruto…?"

"-… Hi…dden… mist." The genin mumbled brokenly, and then he cringed, face twisting uncomfortably until his cerulean eyes flew open and Naruto suddenly yelped.

"Ge-… GE-GEN- JUTSU- … AHHH!"

Daisuke bit out a sound when the blonde ninja yanked at his vest and pushed.

"Na-!!!" The purple-eyed jounin grunted. And he gripped at Naruto's shoulders as the boy flailed in panic.

"Naruto-san… ! Stop…!-"

"-Let go!!" The fox-ninja flared with a screech. And he jerked to wriggle away.

"Stop! … You're okay!" Daisuke insisted, fighting to pin the frightened boy down.

The blonde's eyes flew to the young shinobi's face and he pushed once more for measure before finally softening against the hard grasp with gasps for air.

The blue-haired shinobi pushed his shoulders with final emphasis.

"…It's okay. We're jounin of the leaf." The purple-eyed man firmly said.

"What- What's… What happened-… ??" Naruto's voice trailed off and his eyes widened as he cocked his head across the field.

His blue gaze settled frantically over the two slumped forms of his teammates.

"Wait! Over there!!! … Sakura-chan!... Sasuke!!...-" The blonde declared.

"-Another jounin is on his way to get to them, Naruto, please calm down."

But the blonde genin had already seen the extent of what went on around him, and the consciousness sharpened his stubborn glare as he caught sight of the familiar blue-skinned man who had fooled him, and his teacher poised in attack stance just in front.

He saw the swirls of smoke across the far side and - another man - running at blinding speed across the field. An ally?

Naruto's blue eyes shot quickly back to the shark ninja.

"That man….!"

The genin clenched his fists. "That man knocked me down!" he announced sharply.

"Kakashi-senpai is already fighting him as we speak." The jounin's eyes settled over Naruto.

"I never got to help…" The boy said as he shook his head and his orange jacket rustled with the motion.

"I NEVER help…!" He blurted out as his blue eyes widened with frustration.

"Naruto-san, you're in no condition either way!" Daisuke hurriedly exclaimed.

"Shut up-…ttebayo…" The fox-genin growled, as he made to push away. "I'm gonna take that man down…"

"But help is on the way, already- we've asked for back-up and they should be arriving anytime-"

"I don't care!!! Sakura-chan… Sasuke… We have to DO SOME-"

"Mehhhh… Na…-" A slurred sigh suddenly interrupted the heated debate from behind. And Naruto's head tore up at the familiar voice. His cobalt gaze flickered with recognition as they met lethargic, heavy-lidded ones.

"… Someone call for Konoha back-up?"

"…We were in a nearby village, mid-mission…" Another recognizable low voice languidly provided, "But Tsunade-sama requested that we come as soon as possible…"

The speaking shinobi stepped out with gleaming transparent eyes from the shadows.

He crossed one bandaged arm over another bare one and his fine eyebrows arched together.

The shinobi beside him who had first spoken deflated with a bored scowl, slouched and then sighed.

Naruto slowly bolted upright and his whiskered cheeks pushed up with hope. "You guys…" he whole-heartedly whispered.

--

Itachi raised himself with a swaying saunter as one hand clutched to the burning, open wounds to his chest.

And despite the pain searing the raw skin of his arms, his eyes glowered with more anger than he had felt for years and years.

His mind remained clear and stoic, and the brilliance of the young prodigy was running its course through his head. Already he had figured out the source of the sudden attack.

Hayai Keska.

And the man was still as fast, if not, even faster now then he had been.

_Such speed… being able to attach these explosives to me… _Dark eyebrows drew together in annoyance.

_And then seemingly slowing time down in my mind with his bloodline limit…_

_Hm._

Itachi's lips pushed out in a tight frown and with a tight release of chakra, he willed his Sharingan open.

The crimson gaze dominated his cold, black stare and the tomoes whirled in concise study.

_I shall have to predict the man's moves. And anticipate them as they come. _

Just as the thought left, Itachi spotted the ANBU captain already rocketing midway across the field.

He expanded his senses and readied himself with an even firm crouch to the ground.

_So I shall not hold back… _

_Hayai Keska._

The captain's honey eyes flickered as he ran into the clouds of smoke. And then he had spotted the darting billow of black cloak.

_There!_

The captain pushed the sword between his teeth and formed the hand-seals to his technique.

"Time-split – fraction delay!"

A flash of black again. And the jutsu hit the target.

_Got you!_

The moving form was to his right. And in sharp, finely executed moves the captain had whipped sideways with a leg and kicked a round-house over Itachi's jaw.

The man was slow to see it coming.

Keska's ankle hit solidity with a nice firm crack.

And with fluid ease, the man retracted his sword, grabbed a fistful of the falling Akatsuki member's head, pulled the man's skull backwards so the neck was exposed and pressed the Katana's tip into the bulk where he knew the wind-pipe was located, straining against the skin of his neck.

"Like I said…" The captain smoothly provided, "Over."

"Is it -?" The voice under him quietly said.

Keska didn't give the man a chance to speak another word.

He swiped the blade clean and deep across flesh, waiting for the spurt of high-pressured blood.

Instead, the captain heard a cork-pop, and the solidity under him disappearing into more smoke.

"Shit! Kawarimi!" Keska's eyes flew open as he made a quick leap backwards…

And Itachi, keen observer that he was, had clearly predicted just that.

The tip of a sword plunged into the ANBU commander's side, and Keska let out a sharp cry as the pain came - stabbing and sweeping into his stomach.

"Auughhh-Fuckin'-Kami!..." He bit out with a twist of grating teeth as he pushed away and clutched at his bleeding side.

…

Keska was panting.

And so the captain barely had the chance to hear the quiet sprinting of sandaled feet…

…But soon, another entirely unfamiliar, low and languid voice had erupted - piercing the silence.

"JYUUKEN! HAKKE ROKUJUYON SHO!!!"

Keska's head flew up as he snatched in a surprised breath.

_What "Eight trigrams and sixty-four palms"?_

…

_Hyuuga…!!!- _

"Hakke…...!!" The strong voice belted out, "…TWO Strikes!!!"

And then Keska's eyes widened as he saw the stab of a small arm fly towards Itachi's black robe.

Two rapid pushes and the man stumbled backwards.

"FOUR Strikes!!!" A dark pony-tail lashed out, followed by a blur of dark beige shirt.

The smoke started to dissipate.

And Keska now clearly saw… - with gathering bulks of veins protruding past his transluscent white eyes – the Byakuugan -

…and its holder…

Hyuuga Neji.

Another rookie, just like Uchiha Sasuke.

Keska's eyebrows drew together in a thrilled grin. _Looks like express help has arrived. _

"EIGHT Strikes!!!..." the boy continued to count as his white eyes narrowed in the eerie moon, and his arms worked efficiently punching into the chakra holes on the older Uchiha's system.

The man was undoubtedly caught in the pressured hits, unable to break away.

"SIXTEEN…!!!"

The captain had to shake his head as the young Hyuuga's limbs hastened a notch.

_Holy Miko's ass…_

_The boy could tap. _

_If this keeps up, the bull-fuck won't be able to use his Sharingan. _

"THIRTY-TWO…!!! – Haa-"

Itachi had managed to twist away with a sideways flip, and then lowered with a keen sweep of glinting katana, straight for Hyuuga Neji's leg. The boy retreated with a backward somersault and a gracefully-saved stumble.

At the slight leeway of distraction, Keska was on it.

Before Itachi could rise, the ANBU commander had swiftly stepped on the blade and pushed a foot out hard and sharp at the man's chin.

The foot connected nicely with bone, and Keska cringed as his leg generated the pain of the momentum. Just as quickly, the Akatsuki member doubled backwards from the force and hit the ground.

The captain quickly high-kicked the sword's handle away from his grasp and his foot sent the blade hurtling with a spin further away.

"Not bad. Not bad at all for a Hyuuga, kid." Keska hurriedly gave the panting Neji a grin as he lowered.

And then, the ANBU commander's face had turned into a scowl as he grabbed the sprawled and bloodied form of Uchiha Itachi, lifting his chin off the ground and giving him a stony, narrowed stare.

Yes. As expected, Neji had successfully blocked most chakra points.

Itachi's eyes faded off into a dull black.

"You think…" the bloodied man slowly mused with a falling of his eyelids, "… that you have won?"

"I'm not taking my chances. Not until you're dead Itachi – you psychotic son of a goat-fuck." The brown-haired captain growled.

Just looking at the marred face made him sick.

With a trembling tide of sudden anger at the earlier events, Keska gave a frustrated hiss and slammed Uchiha Itachi's face into the dirt. Hard.

"Fuckin' traitor!" He snarled between clenched teeth.

Neji stood from afar, lingering with his Byakuugan open, observing and verifying the damage to the missing-nin's chakra system.

And then his eyes had widened as he saw the makings of the chakra paths…

"Impossible… I should have seen it." The older rookie's transparent eyes seemed to darken to lavender.

"It's… Not him." The genin slowly murmured.

Fooled.

--

"How many times-!!" Kakashi swiftly ducked as the predatory shark roared, swinging his sword out in an arc and causing the air to ripple around him.

"-…Should I have to dispose of you!!" The missing-nin finished with a grating shout.

Kakashi's eyes sharpened as Kisame shot forward. But the man's speed lost to his large towering frame. The pepper-haired jounin's sharingan caught the predicted movement and Kakashi quickly leapt into the air as the man lunged forward.

The elite jounin turned mid-flight, flinging one heel down over the shark's skull and the Akatsuki member bowed with the impact, stumbling with a roll before using the force to propel himself back to a swaying stand.

"Nnnnnnahhh, Hatake Kakaaashiii…" The silver eyes turned icily sharp as Kisame's voice hoarsely dragged out. And the gray-haired shinobi gathered his chakra, leaping backwards to keep away from the sucking tendencies of the man's large sword.

He willed the sharingan tomoes to swirl, carefully building force to create an illusionary tactic.

But the fish knew all too well from his experiences with his Akatsuki partner – the threatening power of those eyes. And he forced his head down with a glower, teeth pushing up in sick thrill as he brought Samehada forward.

The jounin made to dodge sideways, but he soon lowered his leg…

Because suddenly – Kisame had frozen.

The shark's predatory eyes widened with repressed rage and the nerves of his dominating irises bulked maddeningly. "What-… is- I can't move!" He roared.

Kakashi's stare grew large as he recognized the leaf technique.

_Masaka… This jutsu, its-_

"-…Kagemane no jutsu…" A drawling voice flatly stated from the darkness of the trees.

The elite jounin watched the shape in the shadows lower its head with a sigh – and almost comically, Kisame's own head bobbed down with an indignant growl.

"Ah-ah.." The small form ejected a dull breath, "-troublesome that I had to wake up for this."

"Nara Shikamaru-…" Kakashi murmured with a softening gaze.

"Yo-… Kakashi…" The new chuunin sullenly nodded as he got up from his squat beside the trees and slowly walked forward. Hands still pressed together in the last formation.

The shark felt the tug of the shadow jutsu over his own legs and his face menacingly hardened as he uncontrollably took two steps of his own.

"Do what you have to do with him before my chakra runs out – because…" Shikamaru lifted his heavy stare and his eyebrows clashed agonizingly. "That man's sword seems to be drawing my energy."

Asuma's little prodigy.

Keen and smart as ever.

Kakashi didn't need to be told twice. He saw the blue glow of the missing-ninja's sword.

The teeth underneath the bandages crunched as it consumed.

"Hold him down, I will finish this." The man instructed.

Shikamaru ignored a bead of sweat as it trailed down one side of his temple.

And he stoically watched as Team seven's teacher lowered and formed Uzumaki Naruto's familiar hand-seals.

"Kage bunshin!" The man said in a low voice.

Three solid copies of the jounin appeared out of unveiling smoke.

After a moment, one leapt forward and tied its arms around the motionless shark.

The other two went for opposite sides. Each clone pushing its' hands together and forming identical hand-seals.

_This should be enough … to end this mess._ The jounin's thoughts predicted.

And then he started forming the same hand-seals that the chakra-capable clones were making.

The force of the elite ninja's body energy gathered.

And all together, the three pressed their right palms down with a firm left-hand grip.

After a brief silence, flickering bluish light started to build from between their fingers.

And soon the field turned into a clashing whine of building chirps and flickers of bluish-white lightning.

The blue-skinned Akatsuki member's eyes widened and he gave a loud enraged cry as he saw the copy-ninja's most famed technique.

"Kakashi – hurry it up, I can't hold on for much longer… -" Shikamaru cringed.

And because the chuunin couldn't help it, he muttered. "That … troublesome sword."

The pepper-haired jounin's head shot up, and his eyes narrowed amidst the flickering light.

_This is for Yume._

_Yume…_

The anger coursed through Kakashi and from the sweeping torrents of it, he gathered his strength.

"RAIKIRI!!!" The man sharply declared. And with a signaled step forward, all three clones ran towards the shark. Three powerful spears, from three different directions, of the man's most fatal and legendary cutting technique.

A bare meter away, and Shikamaru's jutsu finally dwindled.

The shadows quivered and then slinked back to its owner, returning against the original shapes they had been cast from.

It was just as well.

Because Kakashi had the man cornered from three sides.

"THIS IS IT!" The jounin declared, and the three plunged their hands forward.

Kisame's eyes widened for the first time with a flash of slight fear.

And then something had shot in front of the tall Akatsuki man and pushed him back.

The Kakashi clone clinging to the shark's neck hit the ground in a burst of smoke, just as the shark tumbled into the grass.

And Kakashi had seen the quick move, but it was too late…

Because the two others – as well as the jounin himself – had already plunged their hands into another body…

That was not Kisame.

The elite jounin gave a sharp breath and his head tore up to stare at the face.

The face that belonged to the man who had killed Yume.

Uchiha Itachi.

The handsome man gave a small, emotionless smile and then Kakashi leapt back as Uchiha Itachi's body exploded into a swirl of clouded smoke.

"Bunshin!!" The jounin tore out with a dry pant and a frustrated bump of silver eyebrows.

The Raikiri faded away into darkness.

_I wasted three times my technique on one bunshin... _

"Kakashi! … They're getting away!" Shikamaru's flat voice stated to the right of the man.

At the same time, Keska's grunting shout came from the left.

"FUCKIN' SLY PSYCHOTIC ... PIECE OF SHIT!!!"

_No…!!_

Kakashi tore his gaze down and saw that Kisame was no longer on the ground.

The man had also disappeared.

--

"They're gone!!!" Atom shouted as he jogged up to the gray-haired jounin, cradling Sakura over one arm and Sasuke over his other shoulder.

"I saw six different bodies run in chosen opposite directions!"

"Atom! - … Sasuke… and Sakura… are they- " The elite teacher snatched out as his eyes touched over his unconscious students.

"-They are alive… Hatake-senpai." The large shinobi's eyebrows pushed together in a grateful mixture of concern and relief. The bulky jounin gave a slow encouraging nod as his beady eyes flickered towards the pained mentor.

"…They're holding on."

--

Neji soon appeared behind Atom and his open Byakuugan strained through the bulk of veins as he studied the elite teacher.

"Sensei… That man… has fooled even my eyes." He murmured in a sweeping voice. His gaze lowered and the Hyuuga prodigy crossed his arms before he quietly continued.

"It will be a waste to try to locate the real bodies. They all have the same constructed chakra system -"

"KAKAI-SENSEI!!!"

All four turned to the hollering voice.

Naruto bolted up to them with Daisuke in tow.

"Kakai-sensei!! Ano-ano!!! That man with brown hair- …!! And no shirt…-!"

"Sir Keska-" The jounin behind the blonde provided quickly.

"He is bleeding profusely, Kakashi-senpai. We need to get bring him to a hospital."

"Ahhh…" Shikamaru's mouth twisted out in a large concentrated frown as he looked up at team seven's teacher in expectance. "_mendok seh na_…"

--

Kakashi's furrowed gaze lowered with resignation and he sullenly pulled his forehead protector down over his crimson eye.

Tonight's search… would have to draw to a close.

With this many injured, it was only first priority to abandon the pursuit and think of comrades first.

It would always be that way, no matter how badly you felt about it.

_Once again…_

Kakashi's chest clenched painfully. And a smiling image of Yume in his mind only made his eyes moisten.

One gloved-hand clutched at his vest in anger and conflicting pain.

_Once again… they have escaped._

Even when they deserve nothing but a slow and painful death.

His eyes peered at the ground.

_I had come so close…_

_We had been …_

_So close. _

"Kakashi-senpai?" Daisuke broke into the man's thoughts with a quiet voice and soft purple eyes.

The elite teacher slowly looked up at him. And the jounin saw the sadness of his gaze.

"-…Alright…" Team seven's mentor quietly murmured.

His face scrunched with the pain of failing. But the man spoke with authority, regardless.

"We have no choice. Let's go." The jounin made to move towards the direction of the fallen ANBU commander, but another thought occurred to him and Kakashi turned to look into the large blue eyes of his one standing whiskered student.

"Naruto…"

The boy blinked his sad cerulean irises at his teacher in silence.

"Stick close." The jounin murmured.

And because he didn't bother repressing it, the man rested a comforting gloved-hand over the blonde's shoulder and firmly squeezed it before letting go.

"Everyone…" he raised his head, and all eyes turned to him in attention.

"Traveling through the forest will be dangerous. So I only ask that we work as a one-man team…"

His eyes solidified as he touched on each of their faces.

"Teamwork… is important." Kakashi finally said.

It was always what he knew and understood.

At that chosen moment, the ANBU captain's muffled voice punctuated the air.

"Shit-fest… Oh, shit, fuckin' wowme… look at this. Matakeh, I'm gonna need another serving of Shizune-chan." Keska's voice came out a pained mutter.

"Captain…" Both Daisuke and Atom called at the same time.

Neji could have rolled his eyes, though Kakashi wasn't quite sure.

And Naruto lowered his head – surprisingly quiet – as Shikamaru threw a hand into one pocket and listlessly fixed the stars of the sky above him with a lazy look.

It was going to be an immediate journey towards home.

--

**Author's Notes:**

**YAY!!! THEY'RE RESCUED!!! … -pumps fists in the air-**

**Okay… this chapter did take long… and it IS LONG too! To tell you the truth, I knew it was gonna be a bloody-hard chapter to make and I just wasn't feeling enough motivation to actually sit down and write. (-.-)" uh-boiii…**

**Sorry if there were any grammatical errors or sudden transitions… this didn't go through the usual editing, because I've been busy-busy… I do hope I didn't disappoint you too much. **

**(-.-)" Uwah,..**

**As usual, I do love comments… actually I can't get enough of them. HAHA**

**SO IF I successfully made you laugh, cry, gasp, … fall off your chair (even if it was actually the dog's fault)… I'd love to hear about it. -. **

**For those of you who haven't received my reply from last chapter… -slumps- I'm gonna answer. I promise. :)**


	34. DECIDE

**Haha, nope. I don't got an excuse for this one. I was just procrastinating (as we all do at some point)**

**Nyahaha, okay… I'm a lazy-ass. **

**Please don't hurt me too much.**

**(--.--)''**

CHAPTER 34

Unsettled even in sleep.

He dreamt of horrifying images, fleeting and unremembered. All that remained was the pain, the helplessness, the longing…

The darkness.

The solitude.

Fogginess lifted, but the weight of emotion stayed, pressing down on his chest, finally waking him.

Sasuke's eyes opened and the pain was there to greet him.

His bones seemed to graze sharply against his insides when he took even the slightest of breaths.

And immediately, the gripping headache came, like claws of steel tightening over his skull.

The boy winced, scrunching with effort as he pulled himself to a half-sit over the pillows.

Curtains, gossamer-thin, rustled against the slight breeze that started to blow into the room.

Sasuke felt the chills glide over his body.

Alone.

It hadn't been for a while now, but the problems suddenly rushed back.

The same ones he dealt with everyday since the massacre.

The same ones that had stopped with that first kiss in the dark.

_Sakura…_

He looked for the comfort. Just as he had grown to do over the past few weeks and his onyx gaze touched across the familiar room of the hospital.

He glanced at the empty beds beside him for a moment, cringing at the soreness.

For a while he managed to sit upright, before finally, he gave up, doubling back into the pillows because his muscles refused to cooperate.

Sasuke's insides felt raw and burned – like daggers scraping idly along open cuts.

He bit back the sting and looked out the window, into the night lights that shone above the rooftops.

The familiarity told him.

_Home? … Yes. _

He never thought he would make it back.

How had they managed it?

_Where… _

_Where is Sakura…_

_Naruto… _

He looked out at the sky as he soothed his aching temples, trying to recall what had happened.

The last thing he saw was her face.

And then…?-

"-You're awake…"

The sudden quiet voice caused the genin's head to jerk to a dark corner of the room, where a shape in the shadows was seated into a plastic chair.

Sasuke saw the silver tips shine in the little patches of light and the face of his mentor came forward, navy blue mask concealing every bit of expression.

_Kakashi._

A pause came before the man softly asked "… How are you feeling?"

"Kakashi…" the genin started to say, latching on to his earlier thoughts.

His throat burned with hoarseness as he struggled to ask. "… Where… is-"

"-…Sakura? She… is still in the treatment room…" Kakashi answered. And his eye lowered to the ground.

For the first time that the jounin was idle, Sasuke noticed he didn't have his book.

The elite ninja slowly rose from the chair and walked towards the boy's bed. And as he moved, the darkness wrapped around him, pressing into the room.

"-Sakura,…" the teacher's voice trailed off, and the student watched the teacher's face fill with remorse.

"Sakura has suffered... both physically and psychologically."

Sasuke listened. But he wouldn't say anything.

He found that he didn't really want to talk about it yet.

The boy's shoulders lowered, feathered locks hiding the sides of his face, concealing the pain and the guilt. Trying his best as was his nature to keep any kind of emotion away from his solid black stare.

"Sasuke…" The quiet voice came again, and the boy felt a firm hand rest over his shoulder.

He didn't look up or bother to move.

Every bit of him, every inch of skin felt the shackles, saw the bars of his prison and knew he was trapped.

He wouldn't be able to escape.

Not anymore.

"…It's not your fault." Kakashi whispered.

The voice penetrated the darkness inside the boy, but there was no reassurance. The darkness pushed any kind of comfort away, and Sasuke's eyes became firm as it focused amidst the shadowed sheets. That same indignant look the little Uchiha always had - even if he felt no strength left, even if he was tired of fighting… His expression gave nothing away.

Once again, his mind rationalized, stubbornly filled itself with opposing thoughts.

_Not my fault? _

… _It was every bit my fault. _

_If I had never learned to love her…_

_If I had stayed away…_

_If I focused on what I had known was important all along and continued to get stronger for the sake of finally killing him…_

_This wouldn't have happened. _

_He…_

… _wouldn't have… _

_-Wouldn't have done…-_

The thought was too much. And thankfully, the boy had pushed it away before the images came.

But the anger at his own uselessness, at his stupidity and at his brother, all of it gathered into a ball of emotion that lodged itself deep.

And Sasuke was in no mood for sympathy…

Especially not from someone who couldn't understand what had happened. Didn't realize the gravity of the whole situation and how it revolved around him.

He was to blame for everything that had happened to Sakura in that one night.

And here the jounin was, speaking as if he knew it all.

As if he understood.

_How… can you ever understand,… me…., Kakashi._

The irritation mingling with the exhaustion and frustration came. And the genin snatched his head up, eyes glinting black as he focused a look that bordered on a glare, at his mentor.

"… You weren't there to see it. You don't know what happened." He tightly said.

Kakashi lowered his head as Sasuke pulled away and settled back into the pillows.

The boy looked out at the night view, and after a brief moment, his eyes closed.

Eyebrows colliding into a forehead wrinkle that appeared only on people bearing a burden, even in sleep.

Kakashi didn't move.

Because he knew the boy needed him there, despite the cold treatment.

Sasuke often said one thing, and meant another. Opted not to care, and yet showed that he did just when it most mattered. He was difficult to read, entirely unpredictable, haunted by the past and trapped in it.

But Sasuke was a good person with a heart that hadn't given up.

Though at this point, the jounin knew it would only take just a bit more for him to finally harden altogether.

It was a crucial time, and Kakashi made sure he was there to look out for the signs…

Those signs of revenge - the blackness Sasuke hid too well and secretly planned on.

For a while, Kakashi might have thought Sakura was the answer.

The boy had seemed to change when their relationship blossomed.

But with the arrival of this…

Kakashi's eye closed.

_The boy might just finally snap. _

The thoughts stopped when he heard the slow click of the doorknob, and the frame push open.

Strands of blue hair fell across purple eyes that blinked into the darkness of the room and Kakashi gave the man hovering at the doorway an acknowledging nod.

"Daisuke." He greeted.

"Hatake-sempai…" the young jounin started, "…We've received word on the Akatsuki."

The gray-haired jounin thought he saw Sasuke's body stiffen for a brief moment. And he quickly pushed away from the bed, making his way now towards the purple-eyed shinobi.

"Mm… let's discuss this somewhere else, Daisuke."

"Ah… hai." The blue-haired jounin quickly answered with a short bow as Kakashi stepped out into the hallway with him.

The door fell shut, leaving Sasuke to ponder with disquiet in the darkness.

And as the thoughts rushed in, the boy's face bunched into a frustrated scowl. Because he realized that "word on the Akatsuki" was exactly what he had to find out.

He wouldn't rest until he knew more about them.

Initially, he had plans of at least waiting for the pain to subside, but…

One bandaged hand pulled the sheets off his body and the genin slipped his legs to the cold linoleum floor, bracing himself against the mattress with an unsteady swagger.

He was no stranger to broken bones and bruises.

It was just another painful sacrifice.

Just another step to getting his inner peace back.

It was now or never.

Sasuke clutched at his side with a wince, and with a firm raise of his head, he started walking towards the

door.

* * *

_Thump. Thump. Thump. –Thump…. Thump-thump._

Naruto exhaled impatiently.

His fisted knuckles continued to relentlessly knock into the plastic chair, as he sat there outside the treatment room the Godaime had brought Sakura to.

_Thump. Thump._

His whiskered cheeks stretched out in a flash of tensed canines. And then his head rose, stark blue eyes scanning the glowing sign above the twin doors for the umpteenth time since he had finished with his own check-up.

It was still red. The medics still weren't done. And how long has it been? It had to be more than six hours.

Six hours already.

It seemed both a short time and agonizingly forever.

_Thud-thud-… thudthudthudthud-_

"-Oi, Naruto-" the sighed slur drifted into the air. "Stop that… it's really not helping, so don't bother with such things."

The blonde's eyebrows clashed and he whipped around to the slouched over form of his classmate. "But it's taking them so long and I can't help it!"

Shikamaru lowered his head wearily, and the lines under his eyes seemed to furrow even more before he turned to the other silent genin beside him.

"Na… Neji, do you think the hokage will give us tomorrow off for all the trouble we went through?"

The Hyuuga's transparent eyes opened for a moment before they closed again and the rookie gave a nonchalant shrug.

"That's why we're waiting for her…" came the fluid murmur. "To ask for that day-off…"

The Hyuuga-tensai concentrated a typical foul gaze of thought at the tiled floors, before he spoke again.

"If I'd known the answer then I would have left you both here and gone home…" His slim eyebrows arched in slight irritation and he silently crossed one leg over another. "I do need to catch up on sleep."

"Ah-ahhh…" Shikamaru sighed, "at least you get to have your sleep. I have to file a report on this…." the bored-looking chuunin sat back with a sideways scowl. "…_Mendok seh na_."

"Keh." Naruto's lip twisted out and he pushed with emphasis into the seat. "You're both shameless. Don't you two care for Sakura at all?"

Neji gave a detached and slightly defiant look, while Shikamaru simply gave a detached look.

"That goes without saying, Uzumaki-" Neji stated.

And the older rookie had barely finished his sentence when the blonde genin had suddenly leapt out of his chair with a sound halfway between an exclamation and a screech.

His head turned to the double doors to the treatment room.

"The lights have been switched off! They're done!"

Shikamaru pulled up slightly from his slouch and Neji got up to stand.

After a torturous ten seconds of nothing happening, during which the three were silently waiting for the slightest movement of the doors, a voice finally came through the cracks.

"…Gently, and take her to 115…"

"Hai- Hokage-sama."

Naruto almost shot forward when the bed on wheels pushed through the entrance followed by four medics in white suits and one very exhausted-looking Tsunade draped in her usual flowing green robes.

"Na-na!!! Tsunade-ba-chan! Tsunade-"

"Naruto,-" the hokage held an authoritative hand up before gesturing to her left. "Stand here, I want you to talk to her." Tsunade fixed the fox-ninja with an impatient golden-eyed look, "Now."

"Ah!" The blue-eyed genin nodded vigorously and rushed to the side of the bed as it pushed through the halls.

"Give me a minute," the hokage said to one of the medics, "I'll follow."

She broke away and turned towards the two shinobi still wordlessly standing in the corridor.

"Hyuuga, Nara,…" She looked at each of them.

"You both get tomorrow off. Well done, and I congratulate you both on your effort."

"But the mission wasn't a success-" Neji silently provided with a lift of his light lavender gaze. "Should we continue to pursue Sasuke's brother and his comrade?"

"De-… Tsunade-sama…when do you need the paperwork?" Shikamaru's forehead was wrinkled almost painfully.

"No… Pursuing them is too dangerous for genin, Hyuuga." The blonde woman gave the boy a tolerant look. "You've both done enough… And Nara Shikamaru…"

The chuunin lifted his heavy eyes to his senior.

Tsunade's gaze settled on him, "You have until tomorrow to submit the report."

Before both boys could say anything else, the leader of Konoha had turned away with a rustle of green robe and continued walking.

"Get some sleep." Her voice issued out, and with a final raise of a dismissive hand, she had disappeared around the corner.

* * *

_Itachi…_

_I-… tachi… _

Sasuke's face was contorted in silent pain as he padded down the darkly-lit hallway. His eyes peered right, left and straight ahead towards the medic's quarters on the look-out for anyone who might usher him back to his quarters – Strangely enough, there was no one on patrol at that particular moment, much to the boy's advantage.

His steps were small and feeble, one hand spread out over the wall as he slowly walked forward. His eyes watched his own shadow dance off the white hall, emphasized by the subtle glow of the overhead lights.

If he could, he would stay in as much darkness as possible.

Sasuke had barely regained half of his chakra tank. That much he knew from the signs his body were giving off.

With frustration, he paused, one leg crippling with sharp pain before he scanned the remaining rooms looking for light beyond the closed doors.

A bright room would mean people. And as he now expected to acquire – significant information.

Laughter came from the room on his right, but Sasuke didn't bother turning his head.

Yes.

He wanted to know more about the Akatsuki.

If he was going to find any kind of link to the whereabouts of his brother, he needed to find Kakashi and that man who held the information.

His knees threatened to hit the floor as he took a few more steps, but the boy only gnashed his teeth and pushed forward, ears prickling at the slightest sounds, straining now, to pick up his sensei's voice.

But even then, another thought was ever-present, straying forward stubbornly from the back of his mind.

… _Sakura is alive. _

_Sakura…_

His mind couldn't help saying the name. He'd grown much too attached.

Despite the recent events, his mind thankfully fed him nice images of her.

The gentle, glowing smile, the soft deep green eyes he could never stop staring into, the pink hair that spilled like silk over his fingers. The softness of her skin, the subtle lavender smell, her voice, her taste…

The way she touched him, and how every thought of pain always left the moment she appeared.

The comfort and the strength.

The peace he found and the sense of happiness.

Everything that was her, everything that he loved…

He wanted to see her.

He needed to.

The longing stopped slightly when he heard the sudden belt of a voice from two rooms down the hall.

"God damnit-... Shizune-chan!- …You're doing that on purpose!"

The boy looked sideways and eyed the doorway.

… That voice was all too familiar.

"Captain- goodness, stay still!" the voice Sasuke recognized as the hokage's apprentice pierced through the cracks of the door.

_Captain_… He thought.

_An ANBU captain? _

"You're stitching me up - without numbing herbs. How can you tell me to just 'stay still'?" The voice almost moaned.

Sasuke heard the utterance of a few more obscenities before he finally stopped listening, and made to move forward.

Kakashi couldn't have gone too far, it was only a moment ago and the genin could still faintly detect the man's chakra signature somewhere in one of the rooms.

He was just about to slip past the captain's door when he heard a third voice.

"Sir, if it's okay, I'd like to disclose the status report now."

And then another.

"Keska… It seems particularly important."

It was Kakashi's familiar flat tone.

Sasuke stopped walking.

* * *

Hayai Keska closed one honey-colored eye as a bead of cold sweat streaked down his forehead. 

After a deep breath, he looked up distractedly at Daisuke.

"Proceed." The brown-haired captain uttered, clenching his teeth as his hands gripped tight to the metal table he was half-sitting and half-writhing on.

For a moment, the purple-eyed jounin seemed unsure, wavering between the captain and the doorway.

He held out the papers on hand – which bore the seal of the ANBU, taking one slow, awkward step forward.

Without warning, Shizune stabbed Keska with her surgical needle and he stiffened with a grimaced moan. "Aaaahhhh and I just KNOW the kids must really hate you." He grudgingly bit out.

Shizune said nothing. Though the man thought he saw the bare hints of a sadistic smile on her face.

Keska raised a hard eye to his swaying future subordinate.

"…Daisuke, what is this? A dead geisha's fan-dance? What are you waiting for man, REPORT!"

The jounin immediately snapped to attention.

"Ah… yes, sir!"

Given the go-signal, he came forward and started to speak.

"One of your teams – Shadow DANCE, as of two hours ago, sent in radio word that they have the possible coordinates of both Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame… - as was recently found to be the identifying name for 'Fish'."

"…Hoshigaki?" Shizune wondered out loud, and before the captain could reach out for the papers, she had raised herself to a stand and taken the report from the younger jounin.

"Someone you know, Shizune-sama…?" Keska jokingly cringed, "Fish-folk relative, maybe?"

The hokage's apprentice ignored the captain and stuck a glowing green palm half-consciously at his suture. Her large black eyes curiously scanned the contents of the rice paper.

Kakashi rose from the chair he had made himself comfortable in, and positioned himself behind Shizune's shoulder, also scrutinizing the details.

"The description of the inn, and the landmarks stated in this report…." The black haired apprentice started to say.

After a moment, she tucked her plain kimono under her and distractedly took a seat on the metal table beside the injured captain. "Yes, I think I know this place... Tsunade-sama and I have been here before-"

* * *

Outside, in the hallway, Sasuke stood, face bowed close to the door - straining to listen… 

At least… until he realized with irritation, that he in fact had every right to know the current activities that involved his brother.

And he wouldn't degrade himself further by eavesdropping.

He deserved to be in that room.

With a firmly set jaw, he pushed one bandaged arm out and entered.

* * *

Keska was leaning over Shizune, peeking at the report, when he heard the door open. 

And when he saw the spikes of black hair hovering at the opened crack, he immediately knew who it was.

_Damn._

He had to stop Shizune from talking.

And how, exactly without having it seem so obvious that they were keeping this information from Uchiha Sasuke?

_Think fast. _

_Act fast._

His hazel eyes flickered sharply towards the girl.

_Not necessarily the smartest move, but pretty damn efficient anyway. _

Before Shizune could continue with specific directions, the captain grabbed her neck and pulled her forward, his mouth landing firmly on hers.

Kakashi and Daisuke had barely turned towards the entrance of the room, when the medic's muffled cry forced their twin stares to revert back to the table.

"Capfh'n!!!?" Shizune muffled loudly into his mouth. Her hands pushed against him but he locked her head in a tight grip when she tried to pull away.

The girl even had the faintest notion that Keska was actually grinning! The nerve!!!

Her eyes widened, threateningly.

"Sir!?" Daisuke declared with a tinge of incredulity.

Kakashi's eye jerked only slightly, though his features remained exceptionally passive.

Apparently the older man was already fairly exposed to the captain's bold nature.

The pepper-haired jounin distractedly turned sideways towards the intruding form.

His student – who was now hovering with the door held wide open.

_Sasuke?_

The jounin suddenly understood and he almost gave a twitch of a smile under his mask at the captain's ridiculous, slightly invading, yet workable move.

They couldn't let the boy know. At this point, his student didn't need to think of more problems.

_But…_ Kakashi's eye flickered,

_How much has he already heard?_

Sasuke's jaw had gone slack as he continued to stare at the man locked lip-to-lip with the Hokage's right hand. But the boy quickly regained some of his composure, just enough to season the crimson blooms on his face.

He closed his mouth and straightened.

Keska finally pulled away with a snatch of breath, and quickly intercepted the wide-eyed, huffy medic before she could open her mouth.

"Doesn't matter how many times you try to resist me Shizune-chan, because I am a very stubborn man." He hurriedly declared, ignoring the huffed, insulted look she gave him.

The ANBU captain turned and abruptly fine-tuned the frozen genin at the door with a breathless grin.

"Sorry 'bout that, Sasuke. Great to see you kid,… But shouldn't you be resting in bed?"

_Sasuke._

Shizune's black hair whipped sideways as she saw the boy, and for a split second she contemplated hitting the captain to the stomach for further punishment or thanking him for stopping her from spilling information.

She decided to fix Keska with a stony glare instead, exhaling sharply as she got up and straightened her kimono.

"Uchiha Sasuke-" she started with a falter, "You're not supposed to be walking around when you still have injuries like that-"

But the boy already had more important things in mind.

"-You know where he is…" Sasuke's low voice cut in.

The genin raised firm, onyx eyes at her.

"Tell me… where he is-"

"… fuckbit…" the captain murmured.

_Apparently the kid had already overheard._

"Sasuke…" Kakashi softly started.

The boy turned to his teacher, slightly aggravated.

"-I have to know." The rising voice of his student came.

"…You have important information on the man who murdered my family, who almost killed Sakura and kidnapped Naruto… … The man is my brother, Kakashi."

The jounin's mute gaze rose to meet unflinchingly with Sasuke's heated stare.

"I have a right to know." The genin insisted with finality.

For a moment, everyone in the room was silent. But the boy continued to stand stubbornly. Hatred rolling off him in thick hostile waves…

It was something Kakashi never really knew how to handle.

Since the first day he heard his student talk about himself before they had formed team seven.

He hadn't known how to deal with that rage.

The elite jounin lowered his head with a sigh. And after a moment, his mute voice pierced the heavy silence.

"…Sit down, Sasuke…"

The man pushed a hand to his gray-hair with exhaustion. And then his one visible eye finally lifted towards the purple-eyed jounin.

"…Go on Daisuke… you may proceed with the discussion."

Keska's eyes flickered warily towards his old ANBU teammate before settling on Sasuke.

But the captain dutifully said nothing.

The boy went for the nearest plastic chair, pulled it forward with a foot and then determinedly sat himself down.

For a moment, everyone was silent. Until Keska pulled up with a groan and waved one hand.

"Okay, Lilac. Copy-boy says it's a go. Carry on."

With a final glance towards Kakashi, Daisuke straightened, cleared his throat and then started to read from the stated report.

Sasuke took a deep breath… set his jaw firm, and listened.

* * *

"Sakura-chan…" 

The blonde ninja's whisper fell on the girl's sideways form, but she didn't bother turning to him.

"… Sakura-"

"Naruto… please…" the girl's soft voice came.

"I-… just want to be alone right now."

Her voice held a slight tremor as she pressed her face into the pillow and clung to it.

Wanting nothing but to cut off the world. To forget everything.

Naruto's blue eyes flickered at the awkwardness, but he brushed it off and continued with a faltering attempt at mild cheer.

"Na-ha… Sakura-chan… It's not good to be alone. Not after what just happened."

The whiskered boy's mouth pulled up almost anxiously as he lingered.

"You need someone to talk to." He slowly insisted, lowering into the chair in front of her bed.

Sakura's green eyes stared out at the shadows on her wall.

Even the fact that Naruto seemed to know what she'd gone through…

It pushed more shame at her.

The girl didn't speak.

Her pale, slim fingers merely grasped the bed sheet closer as she curled over the mattress and tried to ignore the emptiness inside her.

Sakura wanted to disappear.

Hated that she had been violated gracelessly in front of the one she loved. It went without saying.

But the event played itself over and over in her mind, refusing to let anything else in. Not even the slightest bit of comfort. All she saw was the face of that man. The hardened eyes, the worn cheeks, the firmly-set mouth. And his expressionless, yet oddly degrading mock of a tone.

She forced down the quivering lurch of her stomach as she unwillingly remembered.

It wasn't just the physical pain. It was the feeling of intrusion, of being broken again and again. Of losing the sense of what was hers and what was intimate.

She felt the disgust. At what happened and at herself.

Her body felt foreign and dirty.

Used.

Even if she no longer felt pain thanks to the immediate care of the medics who had tended to her body, something was still there. And it refused to leave. Like a permanent scar that marked her different.

Or perhaps, it was the feeling of something that had been lost. Taken. Stolen from her.

W_hat will my parents say? _

_And Sasuke-kun…_

_Where is Sasuke-kun…?_

A tear threatened, until she realized that it would not spill. She'd cried enough. Had emptied herself out and felt as if she couldn't cry anymore.

"Sakura-chan…" the voice of the usually loud-mouthed ninja suddenly came out soft, almost unfamiliar.

And surely enough, it called her attention.

The silence pressed on, until she heard it again.

"…I'm sorry…"

The boy's hands bunched into his orange pants, and he blinked up at the back of her pink head.

"I'm sorry… I wasn't able to help you." He hoarsely finished.

The girl was quiet for a moment, and the blonde ninja continued to stare at the shadows of her shoulders in guilt.

For a while, he only heard the ticking of the clock in the room. The seconds passed gratingly slow as he waited for a response from the girl.

Anything at all.

And then her voice came. Soft, restrained.

Somehow distant.

"… Thank you, Naruto…"

He lifted his head abruptly when he saw her shift to face him. Her glowing, green eyes reflected the yellow lights in the hallway and he watched her mouth draw upwards in appreciation. But the girl's face soon took on a tired look and she spoke.

"…Naruto… I really want to rest, okay?"

"…O-Okay." The blonde ninja generously nodded, only glad that she had bothered to address him face-to-face.

Only happy that she was still talking.

"…It's alright." Sakura tried to assure him with a smile, "You can go."

The girl watched the blonde ninja hesitate for a moment, before the conflict in his eyes left and he finally gave a nod.

The least he could do was give in to her wishes. He wouldn't burden her any more than he had.

The chair creaked as Naruto got up, and with a final glance back at her, he started towards the hallway.

The girl's eyes lowered to the floor, watching the boy's departing shadow before seeing the flood of light from the outside disappear entirely with the silent click of her door.

She was left in the dark.

* * *

Sasuke's jaw ticked as his palms dug into the chair. 

But his face gave away none of his thoughts.

Beside him, Daisuke finally lowered the report and gave the captain a look.

"That's everything." The purple-eyed jounin quietly said.

Keska gave a wordless nod.

And then all eyes slowly glanced at the boy as he sat in his corner, eyes fixed towards one part of the wall.

Kakashi was particularly concerned. And for once, his composure was not of even calm and slackness as he silently observed his student. In fact, the man wavered indecisively between standing up and remaining where he was.

So far, Sasuke had managed an unreadable expression - the very same one that made him an enigma as both an opponent and ally.

In this particular situation, the jounin didn't know what to think or what to do.

At least until a medic pushed the door open and peeked into the room, interrupting the awkward silence.

Kakashi was almost grateful for it.

"Ah, excuse me," she started as her eyes rested on the jounin, "Hatake Kakashi, the Godaime asked me to inform you that your other student, Haruno Sakura, is now checked into room 115 and is in good condition."

The pepper-haired man finally pushed up from his own chair and gave a nod at the lingering nurse.

"Thank you." He mildly said.

At that, the woman smiled and dutifully left the room.

Sasuke turned his gaze and saw his gray-haired mentor looking at him expectantly.

"… Shall we go see her, Sasuke?" He quietly invited.

_See her… _

_Sakura._

The boy felt the odd squeeze in his chest and his onyx eyes softened.

Kakashi knew the answer, even if his student said nothing.

* * *

Naruto was on his way down the stairs, towards the 24/7 canteen, when a quiet shuffle of feet came across the hall, causing him to pause and look back. 

The sight of his raven-haired teammate greeted him – bandaged up to his neck, looking exhausted, limping…

Beside Sasuke was their jounin teacher, hands in pockets, head lowered – They both seemed distracted as they walked.

"Kakai-sensei! … Sasuke!" The blonde called with a raise of his hand.

The pepper-haired man looked up and after a moment, gave Naruto a small smile.

Sasuke raised his head, just a bit surprised.

"Na-na," the orange-clad ninja jogged up to them. "Sakura is over there, in her room. But she said she wanted to rest… So I'm gonna go get some tea to stay awake and keep watch outside. Where are you going?"

The blonde's whiskered cheeks pulled up slightly as he looked at the boy in front of him. "And - oi… Sasuke… What happened… there in the woods…?"

"-We… were on our way to see her." The raven-haired boy ignored the question and directed his expressionless gaze at Naruto. "… Is she asleep?"

The blonde's shoulders lowered as he frowned.

"I don't really know." Naruto mumbled.

"Well…" The jounin took a breath and closed his eyes, "Someone should watch over her while you're gone. She can't be left alone… even if she wants to be."

The fox-ninja watched his teacher's visible eye crinkle in the assuring way it always seemed to.

"Mahh, Naruto, I'll go with you to the canteen to get some coffee. And Sasuke can go watch over her…"

The raven-haired boy turned to the jounin.

And the man gave him a knowing look and a nod. "Go on…. Sasuke."

With that, Kakashi had turned to Naruto and gestured towards the stairway. The blonde reluctantly turned and together the two walked off, leaving the rookie standing just a door away from the kunoichi's room.

* * *

Not soon after Naruto left, Sakura had wrapped the blanket tight around her and buried her nose into the pillow. 

Soon she had slipped into that moment of sleeping-awake - Shadows of fear and loneliness, haunting images of crimson eyes and marred cheeks. Invisible hands that roughly pulled at her body and forced her to move in ways she didn't wish to.

In her sleep, between nightmares, she wept, trying to run away from that man.

Sakura tried so hard to cry out, but her voice only died in her throat as those hands closed around her throat.

_Sasuke-kun._

She whimpered and the name echoed around the walls of her mind.

_Sasuke-kun… _

The darkness surrounded her, holding her down. And she could do nothing…

Nothing…

_Sasuke… _

"Sakura…"

The comforting timbre of that voice. One she longed for each time, responded to willingly…

She felt a light touch to her cheek, and her eyes opened, breaking away from the drowsiness, settling on the reality of the form seated next to her bed.

She found herself looking up at pale skin, the curve of nose, raven strands.

Sakura blinked up at him, and her breath caught as her eyes met his obsidian ones.

She'd wanted to see him…

Had wished so much…

And now, just when she most needed it… He was here.

She couldn't help the sudden bubble of emotion that rose in her throat.

"Sasuke-kun-" She choked out with a faltering sob.

The sound of it caused his chest to constrict and he came forward the same time her arms wove around his neck, letting her pull him closer, letting her press her cheek to his as she whispered his name again.

And after a brief silence of clinging to him, the kunoichi started to cry.

Each gasp and sob tore at him.

It hurt him.

Infuriated him.

And even if his anger was towards himself and his brother, Sasuke couldn't help the rise of emotion as he firmly gripped her.

"… I told you to keep quiet in front of him! I told you, Sakura! But you just kept talking - …" his teeth clenched in frustration as his eyes squinted.

"He could have killed you!"

And as he realized the weight of what might have happened, Sasuke's composure shattered and he snatched her body to him, embracing as much of her as he could.

"-… how could you be so reckless-" His voice bit out.

The girl didn't say anything, only shook her head as she continued to silently cry.

And the pain kept building inside Sasuke, knowing that the girl who made him happy was now broken.

Knowing that she might never be the same again.

"Stupid usuratonkachi…" he buried his face into her hair.

"I- …thought I'd lose you…" his voice cracked as it trailed off.

And just as the last word left his lips, she pulled away, shaking with sobs, eyes glimmering with tears.

"Sasuke-kun…"

All the suppressed emotion, embalmed in the sound of his name.

And then her face came forward and she kissed him.

Sasuke wasn't surprised, didn't think it awkward or that the timing was off.

He needed her.

She wanted the comfort.

They both did.

His eyebrows scrunched and he closed his eyes, kissing her back bruisingly, pressing one bandaged hand to the back of her head and pushing the soft warmth of her lips, her breath closer.

Every inch, closer.

The wetness along her cheeks trickled over his skin, and with more longing he felt even more frustration.

No…

Nobody should ever make her cry.

"Sakura…"

And he didn't know what it was exactly that made him think it…

Much less, what made him finally say it…

"I'm … sorry."

The words almost died against her lips, but the girl heard it just the same, in all its soft breathlessness.

A genuine apology.

He lingered until her mouth pressed over his again.

As if the kunoichi were trying to seal the words between them. As if she welcomed it and forgave him.

And after that fulfilling moment, the girl finally ended the kiss.

Her green eyes looked up at him, quivering with tears.

"Stay with me…" She whispered in a shaky voice.

"I… I- don't want to be alone…"

One hand held the crook of his neck, while the other pressed to his shoulder blade.

"… You're not alone." The boy answered. And he pulled her to him with finality, trying to reassure her.

Sasuke said nothing else afterwards, only listened to her sniffle as it dwindled into silence.

Gradually, Sakura's tears stopped. Her breath against him, evening out until her small body softened into his embrace.

Time passed and in a few more minutes, her arms began to loosen around him, her head falling comfortably against his shoulder.

Soon Sasuke felt the calm rise and fall of her chest, the peace she finally found just being with him.

He knew that she had fallen asleep.

With a turn of his head, he gave her cheek a brush of lip and lowered her over to her pillow.

In the darkness of the room with only the pale moon to set mild glow, Sasuke's gaze swept over her dozing form. He spread his arms out over the cool sheets in front of her, rested his face in his hands and mutely watched the girl.

He stayed till before the break of dawn, two hours later, only leaving because Kakashi had pushed his head into the room and reminded him of his own empty bed… and Tsunade's temper.

For the next coming nights, the same routine continued.

Sasuke coming into her room - it spurred their quiet conversations in the dark, brought small waves of happiness that came with the contact of idle kisses and brushes of skin, ended with more small talk that faded into comfortable silence before heavy sleep gradually took over.

In those few nights, he learned even more about her.

She learned more about him.

And Sasuke discovered that he would never be the same.

No matter how much Itachi tried to change him.

It didn't matter if his hate for his brother was stronger now than ever…

His willingness to protect the kunoichi preceded it.

The boy always made sure she was sound asleep, before he got up and walked back to his room down the hall.

Only then was he satisfied enough to give himself the opportunity for rest.

Finally, the expected night came when both Sasuke and Sakura were given approval for release by the Hokage. They were given a final lecture each, on their medication and a small break from doing missions.

Then, they were sent their separate ways.

* * *

Sakura entered her house that first night she arrived, only to find a note tacked to the refrigerator saying that her parents had gone on vacation. 

More precisely, on a second honeymoon to one of the smaller islands, and that they wouldn't be back until two weeks later.

Her face cleared.

No wonder she hadn't heard from them.

Strangely, she welcomed their absence. And even preferred it over the long discussion she knew would eventually come when the Hokage finally told them…

How she got raped - by Sasuke's brother -… of all people.

With discipline, Sakura pushed the thought away and assured herself that she would grow strong in those two weeks - strong enough to face her parents, comfort them, and eventually overcome what she had been put through.

That night, she cooked herself a small meal – Gindara in sweet sauce with a siding of hot miso soup.

The girl ate through half of the plate's contents before the stubborn, haunting images came again and she pushed her food away, appetite completely lost.

For a moment, she sat, bothered by it, until the tears pushed up into her eyes.

And she cried – wrapping her arms around herself, trying to fight the trauma, wishing for Sasuke.

Whispering his name, even if no one but herself could hear it.

_Stop it. _

The familiar inner voice firmly said as it shook her.

_He can't always come running to you when you want him to._

_Sasuke-kun has his own life. _

_Be strong for yourself._

_Learn to stand on your own. _

It was one of the things the Uchiha had unknowingly taught her.

Self-dependency.

With stubborn discipline, she swiped a hand across her cheek, rose from her chair and decided to keep herself busy.

* * *

Sasuke stuffed the last set of clothing into his large bag and zipped it. 

His eyes scanned the inn for anything he might have forgotten before he took the keys from the top of the T.V. and opened the door.

He was moving back into his old apartment that night.

And even if Kakashi had insisted that he needed help transferring his things, Sasuke had always been capable on his own.

The boy dismissed the offer.

And now he was back.

Opening the door to his familiar room had never invited so many mixed feelings.

Sasuke missed it - The kitchen counter, the large bathroom with his claw-foot tub, the bed wrapped in cold black silk sheets, his T.V. and balcony.

But with the nostalgia came the pain – because when he walked past the bookshelves, he remembered Itachi, the dead fruit vendor, the blood…

And it didn't take much for the recent events with Sakura to come rushing back after that.

Of course.

He needed to keep himself busy…

After an hour spent unpacking, another hour distractedly watching useless shows on T.V. and a hurried dinner of tomato soup and basil chicken, Sasuke decided to take a long walk.

Decided to start planning on his next move.

He opened his door, breathing in the crisp night air, stepped outside and took the stairs down.

Soon he was trudging along the empty streets in shadowed silence, mind occupied with thoughts.

He'd learned that the Akatsuki moved from one place to another, breaking up into partners and then moving independently from village to village and country to country.

Currently, the ANBU had their eyes carefully directed at the movements of Itachi and Kisame.

The boy knew the pair's exact location for the moment - A gambling village near the outskirts of the rice country – according to the report.

But after a few minutes listening to Daisuke, he finally realized that it was futile, even if they held the information.

Sasuke wasn't strong enough - and the boy hated admitting it.

But he wouldn't be able to do anything, even if he went after his brother.

_Too weak,_ The dark voice inside him cuttingly said.

It wasn't in his nature to ask for the village's help – and even if he did, Konoha's forces wouldn't move if the criminal was outside Leaf territory.

It violated rules of jurisdiction.

So Sasuke came to the conclusion… that it was all up to him.

And he would have to get stronger.

_For her. _

* * *

The hours of the night dragged by. 

Sakura glanced at her bedside clock and saw the luminous numbers just as another minute replaced the last.

– 1:06am

Her fingers stroked idly along the sewn edges of a poppy rag-doll she'd busied herself making.

And then her gaze landed on the two other animal beanbags she had already finished.

No.

She couldn't keep delaying herself sleep.

Her body slouched tiredly, and she knew she needed the rest.

So she took the sleeping pills the Hokage had given her and went for a short bath.

The thoughts followed her, and haunted her every so often – Many times, the kunoichi had to suppress the tears. Had to stop - lean into a wall, sit in a chair, crouch over the sink - and draw in careful, even breaths, until the feeling dulled and faded.

But she was getting better at it with every taunt.

She might have even been a little proud of herself.

The girl stepped out of the shower, dried herself, brushed her short hair and put on a ruffled turquoise-colored night dress.

After taking a few steps around the room and opening the doors to the balcony to air out the steam from the bath – Sakura sat herself down on the princess bed, switched off the bedside lamp and slipped under the sheets.

She was awake for a long time, blinking in the darkness as she listened to the crickets chirping.

But soon, and thankfully so, the sleeping pills dutifully kicked in.

Her eyes grew heavy, and she welcomed the clouded drowsiness, nuzzling into the pillow as she began to drift off.

She would have slipped into the first dream…

Or would have had another nightmare…

… If she hadn't felt the sudden presence that was now dominating the room.

A soundless entrance, though it didn't really matter, because she knew that chakra.

All too well.

Her eyes flew open, immediately resting on the shadowed solidity of a body just as it stepped off the balcony railing and landed outside her room.

The figure raised his head, and Sakura saw the raven spikes illuminated in the moon behind him.

He carefully stepped into the room, and as he did, a wave of relief washed over her.

"Sasuke-kun…" She said, pushing her hands to her dress, wringing it as the immense joy came.

And the girl's grateful smile made up for it all, touching the corners of her shimmering eyes.

The beautiful traces of his profile caused her to push away from the sheets as he stood there, shifting from one foot to another.

And then he finally turned to her, the black orbs of his eyes catching circles of gray from the moon's light.

"I… couldn't sleep." he silently admitted.

At the simple statement, Sakura's heart skipped.

Just knowing that he felt the same way she did.

The girl's mouth pulled up as the problems started to leave.

One by one…

Just like they always did, every time she saw him.

Until she forgot any kind of trouble at all, and all that was left was happiness.

He took a tentative step further into the room.

She slid away from the bed and walked up to him.

The smell of her was the first thing he noticed.

Flowers, subtle fruits, clean soap and female skin…

Her arms came around him…

He lowered and caught her lips.

… _What have you done to me…?_

"… It doesn't feel right when I sleep and you're not around." She whispered against his mouth.

He lingered as he took in the words and then he pressed to her, tongue slipping past her parting lips, into the moist warmth.

Wanting the taste.

Savoring her.

Remembering Sakura.

His kunoichi.

… Because he wouldn't always be around.

… Because he wouldn't have her for long.

… _Days and nights… without you… _

… _How ironic… _

… _to have to leave you, so I can protect you._

Yes.

That was his decision.

And this was his new purpose.

To protect her…

By leaving to get stronger, to bury Itachi forever.

_Sakura._

A silent groan, more sorrowful than anything, escaped him.

And with roughness, he held on to her, afraid to let go.

He didn't want to let go.

But if it was for her…

Then he would.

He would have to let her go.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Ahhhh, we almost done!!! ------ does sorta-happy-sorta-sad-dance ----- (-.-)"**

**Final Chapter comes after this, and I really, really hope you don't feel too bad that I ended it this way.**

**I know a buncha people now have pitchforks… yeah, you can poke me all you want and roast me above a fire, I understand. Lol. **

**IF YOU GOT SOMETHIN TO SAY - ... W00t! SAY!**


	35. THE FINAL

**Author's Notes:**

**This is kinda like a Naruto 1 hour special episode.**

**Only it's a fanfic 1 hour read. **

**Yeah… I freakin over-extended it… crammed too many events… But well, I didn't wanna go back on my word… **

**FINAL CHAPTER – and that's what it is. **

**I wanted it long too, because I know how long you've all been waiting… (- . -)"**

**And I wanted to make things worth it. **

**Thanks to everyone who waited so long… for being so patient with me. **

**-bows-**

**ENJOY! - grins-**

* * *

Chapter 35

_Two weeks._

The boy turned around and pushed his arms into the wooden arcs of the bridge's wood as he looked down at the rushing water below him. Dark eyes followed the weaving patterns of elemental grace catching over small pebbles strewn in the shallow mud. Beneath the surface, small field-maidens wriggled, their sleek silver bodies struggling against the current as they fought to overcome it in groups of three or four.

The new weight Sasuke was slowly growing accustomed to, pushed down over his chest and the boy fought it with a deep breath before he bowed his head and closed his eyes.

As much as his impatience drove him, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to leave before Sakura's parents came back from their vacation.

In the past few days, his affection had automatically become secondary, buried under layers of worry, and fear – as he so strongly recognized but impulsively decided to ignore.

After all, Sasuke was still human.

Yes, he was afraid to step out of the village he knew was home.

Afraid he would lose a part of himself with every transcendence to a different border and country…

Sasuke desired power.

As an Uchiha, that determination and drive was unquestionably branded into him.

But because of Sakura, the boy knew now, what acquiring that power was for.

And that led to something else he feared…

Something he knew from his experience with the cursed seal.

That power would corrupt him and change him.

And make him forget.

Her.

As much as he knew he had to leave in the end, he found a repelling force that seemed to be even more overwhelming, pulling him back, whining, urging for him to stay.

It was so much easier that way.

"_Stay with me… I don't want to be alone." _

With his eyes closed, Sasuke heard that voice - her voice - as solidly as the textured wood pressed into his elbows. It brought him back to the darkness of the hospital, the cold linen sheets, the smell of formaldehyde and alcohol, and Sakura, as she looked up at him with her moist emerald eyes.

"… _You're not alone."_ He heard his own voice echo.

But she would be.

"… Alone."

Though it was never his habit to vocalize thoughts, Sasuke whispered the word, regretfully.

And the wind blew, thinning the sound, sweeping it away with the fallen leaves.

Sasuke's eyes opened as he heard the dull pop of teleportation behind him.

And the boy slowly pushed away from the side of the bridge as the swirls of smoke receded. Hands finding their respectful places in his crisp, white shorts pockets.

"Yeeo." Kakashi casually slurred as he looked up.

In one gloved hand, he held a beautifully-woven basket of white Chrysanthemums and in the other, his ever-present Icha book.

The man stuffed the book into his holster, before touching down a few feet from the boy.

His mind was ready with the explanation for his tardiness, as always.

But this was Sasuke.

And Sasuke didn't ask unless it was necessary.

"… Why did you call me?" The boy's usual tenor voice eased out.

"Mm…" the jounin hummed almost pleasantly, before his visible eye opened and he gave the boy a sincere gaze.

"Today… we're going to visit Yume."

"… Yume." Sasuke stated more than asked, and the tone would have forced anyone to explain further.

But Kakashi, typically undaunted by this, much as anything else, only gave a mild nod.

His voice dropped heavily.

"Let's go… Sasuke."

The boy's eyebrows bunched together in a look of mild irritation.

But he said nothing and obediently followed.

Together the two ventured into the woods.

* * *

Sakura arranged the flowers over the vase for the sixteenth time.

And then she sighed and leaned over the counter, watching her blonde friend move around the shop with the water canister.

"Ino…" The pink-haired kunoichi called.

"Hmm?" her friend responded, almost nonchalantly, as she leant over to scrutinize the Spider-mums.

"It's okay that I help out here right? … I mean, until I get a job in the restaurant next door?" Sakura anxiously said, observing the girl's purple sleeveless dress and interwoven bandages as she walked.

With her parents gone, and no assigned missions from the Hokage, Sakura needed the money.

And the Yamanaka flower shop was the only place that was both lacking staff and conveniently situated close to her home. It was an ideal place for temporary work.

So for the first time in a long time, Sakura had asked the supercilious girl for this favor.

And surprisingly, Ino had welcomed her without bitter resentment, a cunning debate or a bashing of sorts.

The girl, well-read on flowers, finally pushed up from her crouch and composed herself before she swung around with a hand pressed to her slim, bandaged waist.

"Sure, forehead girl." The blonde's mouth extracted a deliberate, arrogant grin that was more for the sake of old times than to taunt.

Sakura gave a weak smile and looked down… hands twisting idly with the pink wrapping strewn across the counter top.

"Hey… Sakura…" The blonde's voice lowered carefully, taking in a soft, almost fragile venture into the air. It was the kind of voice the pink-haired girl had been hearing ever so often after her return from the encounter.

Almost everyone used that kind of tone with her now, treating her like a little girl who had suddenly lost an arm or leg - Treating her with sympathy and pity.

Even Naruto.

Her green eyes met with subdued baby blues. Far from the taunting, playful eyes she had gotten used to, in recent years dealing with her ex-best friend.

"I heard from Asuma-sensei… About-…" Ino suddenly lowered her face with a scrunch, as if an invisible force were clutching at her neck, forcing her to recoil.

Sakura kept silent, though she forced thick breath and readied herself to answer.

She already knew exactly what to say.

In the past few days, people had come up to her, most of whom she knew and were relatively familiar with.

The two Hyuugas - Neji and Hinata, and then, Shikamaru – soon enough Kiba, Chouji and Shino as well as a couple of the team teachers, parents and hospital staff.

Each of them, relaying their comfort in different ways - whether it was surprising warmth, distant thoughtfulness, an outraged string of curses or formality.

Sakura had heard each version that came, each delivered speech wrapped in a different kind of package, but all contents bearing the same messages.

"_We're sorry about what happened. And we wish we could have done something to stop it."_

"_If you need a friend to talk to, you're my first priority."_

"_Be strong."_

And her answers had always remained unchanged.

"_It's nothing." _

"_I'm fine." _

"_Don't worry about me."  
…_

And so here it was again, coming from Ino in her uniquely offered package.

But she would have nothing else to say, save for the words she'd automatically given everyone who had mentioned it.

"About … Sasuke and you… I mean…" the girl idly stroked her wheat-blonde pony-tail, "…being together."

"-Eh?" Sakura impulsively blurted, knocked off-balance at the unexpected statement.

"You finally win." Ino continued with a sigh, and she twirled away and sauntered further to the front of the shop, mustering whatever was left of her pride with a swish of hips.

"Congratulations on bagging the rookie…"

The pink-haired girl didn't miss the way her friend tried to cover the slight bitterness in her voice, replacing it with light uncaring airiness instead, choosing to refer to Sasuke that way, as if she were disassociating herself from the exhausted honorific.

Sakura could only imagine what it felt like to be in her place.

The knowledge of having less of a right or access to him, the fact that he had chosen someone else despite the flare and dedication.

"Ino…" She slowly murmured.

"-though I don't know what an elite member of the Uchiha clan could have seen in a forehead-with-a-face like you…" The blonde couldn't help adding with renewed snobbery.

The empathy left instantly.

Sakura's mouth twitched at the insult, and she slung a fist into the counter as she readied herself to swing back with another cutting offense.

But before the barrage of retorts could rain down, Ino turned back to face the upset kunoichi with a teasing smile and just a bit of a tongue stuck out in between.

"… Nonetheless,…" she offered her hand up and held it out in a V, "I should be happy for you."

Sakura watched the blonde girl's powder-blue eyes soften as she gave a renewed smile of fervor.

And for a moment, she saw a flash of what they had been as children.

"You've finally grown up." The usually, outspoken girl now firmly murmured.

And behind the jealousy dominating Ino's aura, Sakura could see just a bit of happiness and pride.

Before the pink-haired kunoichi could work her throat muscles out, the moment had already passed and Ino had whipped her head to the entrance with large blue eyes.

"Irashai! Welcome to Yamanaka's Flower shop." She declared with a fluctuation of high and low melody.

The spiky, brown-haired man at the entrance gave a broad grin, and the toothpick from his mouth twisted up as he stepped inside.

He wore the typical navy blue shinobi top and matching pants.

"Hey, girly." He slung a hand across the doorframe and gave a casual slouch as he looked at Ino.

"What's the best kind of bouquet to give on a first date?"

It seemed like something invisibly poked at the man, and his hazel eyes flickered up to the counter, meeting with Sakura's observant stare.

"Oi… Hey there, Sakura-chan."

Ino's finely-plucked right eyebrow rose as she turned to the kunoichi behind the counter.

_Sakura… CHAN?_

_How could this man know her?_

_Was Sakura THAT popular already?_

Ino almost choked on a disbelieving, slightly insulted snort.

Sakura's face faltered, before she straightened, unable to hide the confusion.

"Sorry…?" her voice ventured before the girl blanched and pushed a hand to her cheek.

"I… I'm sorry, I don't remember ever-…"

"Yes, you've never met me…" the man cut in with another charismatic grin, the small red strip taped across the cut on his cheek pushed up.

"…at least never when you're conscious." He finished teasingly.

Ino's hands came together as she blinked up at the man.

"Hot." She murmured, just barely above a whisper.

_And could this be that man Asuma-sensei was talking about…?_

_The one who… helped rescue Team 7?-_

"I'm Hayai Keska…" The older man started to say, before a cluster of Lilies attracted his attention and he lowered, bracing his hands to his knees.

"Wowme, how much for a dozen of these?" The captain pointed.

"Free… if you give them to me." Ino breathlessly murmured, before pride punched her dangling jaw up and her mouth snapped shut.

"I mean… They're 45 a piece." The girl grandly answered with a honed curl of seduction and a slow cat-like blink. She pushed her hip out and sashayed, so the purple skirt rustled.

The captain raised his eyebrow, and then eased into another casual smile.

"I'll take 12. In… white wrapping."

"Ah, but…" The blonde stuck a finger up importantly, her voice slipping into the systematic ways of a gifted florist.

"For a first date, Red wrapping should be a better choice. It'll subconsciously reveal the intensity of your feelings… also," the blonde girl gave him a bright – almost all-knowing smile – " the Lilies won't be accentuated as much if it matches the wrapping. But White Lilies are a great choice. They reveal purity and sincerity."

Keska pulled at a brown spike and aimed his hand at her, shaping it like a pistol.

"You're the expert…" He dutifully labeled with a feisty smirk.

Ino's mouth grew slack with a smile and she gathered the flowers before walking off to bundle them.

"Hayai Keska…" Sakura suddenly said after her friend had disappeared behind the blue curtains leading to the storage room.

Her gaze rose with clarity.

"You're the one. You're the ANBU captain Tsunade-sama was talking about." She murmured.

"I'm not the only one. But yes, I am an ANBU captain." Keska answered back, lightly. And then his eyes softened and he plucked the toothpick from his lip, before his face took on gravity.

"I'm glad you're doing okay, Sakura-chan…" The man started. And as if the tone had gotten much too somber, his eyes suddenly crinkled, very briefly reminding the kunoichi of Kakashi.

"… We thought we'd lost you both." He mildly continued with an apologetic furrow of eyebrows.

"… Uchiha Sasuke and you."

The girl's green eyes looked at the captain, and she smiled what Keska thought was a beautiful, grateful smile.

"Thank you… for everything, Keska-sempai."

Sakura thought she saw the man twitch.

He craned his neck into the distance, rubbed idly at his stubble and then turned to her with a small smile.

"Just Keska… should be fine."

The pink-haired kunoichi raised flustered eyebrows and she gave an uneasy smile.

"Ah."

* * *

The trip was fairly short.

Both genin and jounin were on their way to the village local's cemetery when Kakashi wordlessly, and much too abruptly turned towards the right, over to a different path, making his way towards a large cogon field enclosed in finely-crafted fences.

Sasuke knew immediately where Kakashi was going, and he froze.

"What… are you doing?" He stiffly inquired.

"Sasuke, this is where she is buried." The gray-haired jounin answered much too softly without turning to face him.

"Impossible-" The boy immediately shot back, his obsidian eyes growing stony.

"… You know those grounds are reserved for Uchiha only."

A little way in front, the jounin finally stopped walking.

A second passed before he carefully turned around to face Sasuke, his open eye revealing heavy grief in muteness.

"Why do you think I asked only you to come?" Kakashi quietly pointed out.

_Why._

Sasuke swallowed.

His teacher watched the new emotions flood his student's gray-tinged eyes.

"No." The boy said. But his low tone didn't sound at all convincing, even to himself.

_No. _

His voice continued to chant though his legs proceeded to step along the paved path lined with dandelions.

His head became light, and his body ironically grew heavy.

They came across the small Iron Gate and the pepper-haired man easily slid the bar from its place and pushed the metal bars open with a rusty creak.

Sasuke raised his head and his vast line of vision was instantly greeted by rows and rows of marble tombs. Each one marked carefully, each one bearing the Clan's name in brazen gold letters, most of the engraved names familiar ones that held many painful memories.

His chest snapped and the wounds that never had a chance to properly heal began to bleed again.

The past rushed forward and confronted him with each marble head, until all the graves blurred into a haunting representation of what he had run away from in that one night.

It all pushed at Sasuke, strangled him, until he snatched his head sideways and focused on a patch of dry grass near the entrance, throat constricting with a sudden tide of grief.

A hand slowly rested on top of his black head, and Sasuke glared up with pained eyes at Kakashi.

"Please… it was something she wanted you to know. I'll explain everything." His teacher said.

The boy allowed the bit of guidance as they walked over rock-laced weeds and choked flowers, until seconds later, the navy blue pants in front of him stilled a feet from a freshly dug patch of ground.

Sasuke raised his head.

And the name greeted him just as his mentor's voice confirmed it.

"…Yume was an Uchiha."

Kakashi's voice barely got through as Sasuke continued to stiffly stare at the carved marble head.

His teacher continued speaking.

"Konoha hadn't kept track of Yume, because shortly after the Great War, they moved away to another village, and then another country to start a new life…"

The jounin rested a gloved hand over the surface of stone and slipped the basket of flowers on the gleaming stage.

"That was only three months after you were born…"

Kakashi's voice trailed off, and his keen eye observed the boy before he ventured on.

"Yume… didn't know about the clan massacre. Not until she had moved back here to Konoha. You see, she arrived in the village only a few weeks ago…. Sasuke…"

At the sound of his name, the rookie spared his teacher a strained glance.

"Yume… learned about you, the only survivor of that night, around the same time she learned of the tragedy." The jounin's voice lowered before he fixed his student with an earnest look.

"She thought it best that everything be revealed to you after the mission, so that you could focus on the task-at-hand without distraction. But what she had been planning…"

The boy barely detected the sudden waver in the voice of his teacher.

It was there. And even Kakashi couldn't hide it.

The jounin's eye caught Sasuke's stare significantly, and the sorrow dimmed across the planes of his face.

"Sasuke… Yume had wanted for you to stay with her, because she didn't want you to be alone… She recognized you as family."

At the last word, Sasuke's eyes widened, arms rising midway to his chest before freezing, undecided in motion and stunned with shock.

_Family. _

In all those years, he hadn't been alone after all.

More questions came, squelching into his stomach, ensnared within knots.

The startling revelation drove into him, shook the anchor free and pushed at his balance.

For a moment Sasuke lurched, close to caving with a thump to the dried grass under his feet in shock.

But he was stronger than that. His body and mind had undergone such abuse that his tolerance had grown insurmountably.

"So…" The jounin turned to the boy, and sullenly closed his eye "Now you know, Sasuke… contrary to even your own belief as well as everyone else's. Aside from Itachi… you weren't the last."

The silence stretched on as the boy carefully took in the words.

All he could remember of her face had been the soft smile and the gray eyes.

He wouldn't have the chance to know anything more.

One hand reached out instinctively to strangle the bars behind him as he thought back on what he had heard about her murder.

"The Akatsuki-" Sasuke started to say.

"-No…" came the abrupt answer.

Sasuke's eyes flickered up, watching the man beside him draw in a steady breath.

"… Itachi." The pepper-haired jounin's eyebrows clashed as he said the name.

"He must have heard about her existence on one of his random travels. And it's likely he might have been planning to kill her ever since…"

Kakashi's head lowered, index finger tapping unthinkingly over the marble.

"We thought we'd saved Yume, because I managed to revive her…But Itachi had used poisonous wires to tie her down… and the girl's wounds were many, and deep…" The jounin's eye narrowed morosely.

"In the end, the man succeeded."

Sasuke was no longer surprised.

It helped that Sasuke didn't know her personally.

And the anger surfaced for only a moment, before he efficiently tapered it down with the days of experience doing just that.

It was the arrival of this that told Sasuke to confront the future.

And now, there was no shred of hesitation in his heart.

Even the fear had somewhat subsided.

_Two weeks. _

A flash of Sakura's smiling face entered his mind.

And then it was gone - replaced by glowing yellow eyes with black slashes for pupils.

The one who had been lingering as of late, who beckoned to Sasuke from the darkness and served as his undeniable solution.

_Power._ Came the enticing, gravelly whisper in his mind.

It danced within the walls of his mind.

Feeding him the recurring vision:

A long, pointed tongue slipping out from between that stretched, broad and snakey smile.

The purple-pinkish muscle flicking once against teeth before disappearing back within the seam.

It hissed.

_Yes, this is what you seek, Sasuke-kun. _

It grated.

_Through me._

Fangs bore down and carefully sank deep into the muscle of his left shoulder.

_Only through me. _

The slither of a raspy voice, like sharp nails, light and airy as breath, brushing up his neck.

It made him shiver.

But it lured him, charmed him more than it could ever repulse him.

Kakashi watched the strange look overshadow Sasuke.

But it was gone almost as quickly as it had come.

"It was because of her that we were able to reach you in the forest that quickly." Kakashi admitted.

"Till the end, she wanted to protect you as a relative rightly should."

Sasuke wasn't sure what to think or how to act.

But soon, one of his hands came forward to rest on the cold stone, fingers pressing firm over engraved letters.

And he found himself saying a silent prayer as the sun shone down over the fences, and Kakashi looked on.

For the relative he never really knew…

_Yes. Now you know… how much you need me. _

The dark voice in him whispered.

Sasuke lowered his head.

_He needed it._

_He would find it._

_He would leave in two weeks. _

* * *

The day wore on, and Sakura kept herself busy. She spent time talking to Ino, bringing a bit of their forgotten bond back with each small conversation. Later on, her penchant for learning urged her to start flipping through floral design books, the history of flower breeding in Konoha. She browsed through two botany sketchpads, researched and drawn by Ino's father, before moving on to proper flower arrangements, accentuations using even the grubbiest of weeds and the combination of fragrant flowers to set desired moods.

_Sunflowers for adoration, White Lilies for purity and modesty, Roses for varying kinds of love, Lavander for devotion, Jasmine for sensuality and attachment…_

"Is he a good kisser?"

Sakura's finger trailed off from the last line of the book and her pink head froze before she looked up.

Ino had just closed the door to the shop and was now busying herself with a springtime bouquet.

Her face was hidden behind the large curve of wheat blonde strands cupping her face and all the kunoichi could see was the way her friend's lips had narrowed into a fine line as she momentarily stopped.

"… W-… what?" Sakura dryly asked.

"…Is he?" Ino finally looked up with a look of trepidation and sudden embarrassment.

"I just have to know… Sakura." She murmured with a faltering smile. "At least give me that."

The pink-haired girl's eyes softened even as she felt her face grow warm.

She opened her mouth and then pushed her face down, unable to look at her blonde friend.

"I-… He… yes."

The sudden loud moan forced Sakura's head up again. And she found Ino clutching dramatically to the cabinet beside her as she threw a hand to her forehead.

"Ah…. So jealous." The blonde's voice rose with a bit of a weeping tremble.

She hovered a moment longer with a sigh before lowering her head and fixing Sakura with a weary look.

"Do me a favor, forehead-girl. Treat him the way I would have."

"And have him leave me by the end of the week? No thanks, piggy." The pink-haired girl answered wryly with a smile.

Ino's apron flew at the counter-top barely missing the kunoichi's face. And Sakura started to laugh.

"…How about you not having a job by the end of the week." The blonde dryly shot back, sticking her nose into the air as she removed her rubber gloves. "The nerve."

--

Sakura carried a flower with her on the way home that night.

A frilly Pink Carnation with its stem wrapped carefully in a small plastic tube with water.

"A woman's love," as she learned it symbolized. She rather liked the idea.

Her street was dark, with nothing but yellow lanterns strewn across wires to pave the way below shadowy Kalachuchi trees. Sakura listened to the sound of her sandals scraping against the pebbled road, before she turned right towards the porch light glow of her brick house.

She was just about to reach into one of the cracks to extract the house key when she heard the sound of a voice, and felt the heat radiating off a body just to her right.

"… Have you eaten?"

The suppressed tone almost blended in with the silent lull of the wind, just as every part of his quiet nature did.

The girl turned sideways, meeting with his refined features hidden under that parting of sharp black hair.

The light from the porch shone off the bridge of his nose as he mutely looked at her - hands in his pockets, casually leaning one arm against the side of the door.

Sakura didn't bother to rationalize how he'd gotten to standing beside her seemingly from nowhere.

Stealth was a talent the boy naturally possessed, whether he purposely used it or not.

Her heart gave a squeeze of greeting and the warm wave of it coursed through her, softening her gestures to tenderness.

Soft petals pressed to her fingers as if to remind her, and the girl shifted thoughtfully before holding the flower out to him with a private smile.

"It's for you." She murmured.

Sasuke's coal eyes lowered only briefly before they returned to her face.

He ignored the flower, stepping forward and crushing the petals against his chest as he did.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's pink eyebrows drew together in question as she backed into the door with a mute thump.

One of Sasuke's pale hands planted carefully just to the right of her face and Sakura saw the proximity close between them, the shadows compressing within personal space. She looked up at him and he gave her a heavy-lidded stare in return.

"I don't need another flower…" Sasuke's voice trailed off.

And then his dark eyes rested over her, silently completing the statement.

Sakura's knees almost curled when he slowly came forward. But she kept herself standing if it meant it was the only way she might meet his lips.

"I went to visit family today."

Sasuke's fingers touched to her cheek, and he watched her eyes widen.

"Family?" she asked with just a tinge of confusion.

"… In the cemetery, I asked for their blessing."

"… Why?" Sakura barely got out, before the boy's lips had lowered over hers and muffled the question.

Everything grew warm, and then just as quickly grew hot.

Considering that her mouth had already been partially open, Sasuke dipped his tongue in with no difficulty, caressing lightly before he retracted and started to suck on the pout of her bottom lip.

She made a sound barely audible, at the back of her throat as her tongue found his and she sucked back with as much fervor.

His hand dragged over the door reaching under the curve of her neck, angling her higher.

She tangled one hand into the back of his head and fought closer.

It was, one of the better kisses he'd given her. And one of the best she'd given back.

Sakura was just beginning to lose herself to the moment when Sasuke pressed down once and then after a slow breath leaning into her, he pulled away.

At just around the same time, Sakura felt something being taken from the fingers that had gone slack between them.

The boy held the flower up and studied it as he ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lip.

"It's pink." He briefly labeled it, before lowering the Carnation and giving her a look.

"I'll keep it."

Sakura smiled and gave a clump of his sharp locks a teasing tug. "No, Sasuke-kun, I haven't eaten. And you're early."

He frowned and shook his hair away from her grasp before he watched her slip the key into the lock and push the door open.

"Early… because I wanted to see if you were any good at cooking." Sasuke said a moment later before closing his eyes.

The girl gave a breath of a giggle, the sound as high as a tinkle of chimes.

And then they went inside.

They ate dinner together that night. And Sasuke enjoyed it as much because it was with her, as because she turned out to be a fairly good cook.

Onigiri and dango in teriyaki sauce. Sautéed Vegetables with buttered shrimps.

Rice husk tea and lemon sherbet.

The desert, they decidedly shared from one bowl.

Him, because he found it pointless to disagree with Sakura.

And her, because she claimed it to be "romantic."

And though Sasuke had his own teaspoon, he ended up eating most of her share simply because she loved feeding him.

"Open." Sakura teasingly commanded for the umpteenth time as she swung the utensil left and right below his nose.

He glared at her, eyebrows bunching together before he pulled his face further away.

"I can't have any more." He lightly said, pressing back into the wooden chair.

Sakura lowered with a pout and then shrugged, decidedly licking the contents off before setting the spoon down on the table.

He found it to be an attractive sight, but kept the thought strictly to himself.

And after a moment, the boy finally turned away.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He looked a moment longer at a Calligraphic painting over one wall near the kitchen cabinet before he directed his gaze at her - a wordless gesture for the girl to continue.

Sakura's green eyes spiked with the illumination of the yellowed lights before the emerald flecks lowered to trace at the cracks of the table.

"You're going to stay tonight, right? …"

Because he had done that, last night – and she slept more peacefully with him.

At the hesitant, yet slightly hopeful inquiry of the kunoichi, Sasuke looked away and moved one arm, reaching below the table into his large holster.

After a moment, he raised something black and something white in front of her.

Sakura eyed the folds and recognized the pair as black draw-string pants and a white shirt.

"I… need a towel." The boy uncomfortably said with a shift.

Sasuke wasn't at all used to relying on other people for anything. And even more, certainly never a personal bathroom asset.

But he hadn't planned on staying until midway through dinner…

Right after the kunoichi had reached over the table and drawn an idle circle over the top of his hand.

Sasuke remembered her doing the same thing last night.

When lying in bed with her had become more comfortable than awkward and she had pulled his arms over her like a make-shift blanket.

He held her and said nothing, even when he noticed her fingers tracing the shape. Sasuke remained receptive to the pad of her finger against his skin until it slowed and then stopped altogether, because she had fallen asleep.

He realized, just right after, that she might have been carving a little of herself into him.

A circle, just as the one that symbolized her clan name.

Tonight, the extra clothes had been a fluke.

He always carried a pair.

And the toothbrush…?

Something told him to bring his toothbrush.

"Auww, Sasuke-kun, you came prepared… - How sweet." The girl's eyes turned into beaming arcs of dark eyelashes, shadowing her cheeks.

Sasuke's left eyebrow responded with a tug and Sakura opened her eyes to watch the boy's mouth part with evenly conducted grace.

The girl was still caught up in absorbed observation when his next words came in its usual fluid tone.

"… Shut up."

But even typical rudeness coming from him sounded like such an eloquent invitation.

Or perhaps it was the fact, his finger was now pressing against her mouth, lightly tracing the curve of her bottom lip, slipping over the fine line that opened to teeth and tongue, swiping over the peak of her upper lip…

Sakura's mouth was just about to form a full "O" when Sasuke smirked and his finger gave the tip of her nose a playful flick.

The motion rendered her to pull back, blinking and stupidly speechless.

Sasuke's mouth widened into a grin.

And soon, all Sakura could do was listen.

To that teasing melody which was uniquely his.

The bubbling trickle she had missed and wanted so much to hear again.

His laugh.

"You have sherbet at the side of your lip… Idiot." He finished.

Sakura blinked a few more times, before absently swiping the sticky moistness away with a hand.

And then, in realizing her lack of grace in comparison to him, she blushed and looked down.

He was so different…

Sakura's eyes wandered up, watching him tuck the clothes back into his beige holster.

And slowly, she smiled, taking pride in her triumph. Knowing just how far and deep Sasuke's true nature went.

Only she knew him this way.

Only her.

And with that thought, a smile played across her lips and she rose to clear the table.

* * *

For the whole duration of that week, he paid her more dutiful visits - though Sasuke felt it was more an impulsive need than a responsibility. The only way he could feel that everything was in its rightful place was the moment her face greeted him, every night.

The only time he felt like the world wasn't swinging off its hinges was when Sakura provided the hand that stilled it.

And though it was wrong, though he knew the dependency wouldn't make things easier for him, Sasuke allowed himself to be submersed in the carefree world she provided.

Like a drug, the rookie silently thought one night.

It was the seventh day, and they were sitting in the living room with ten sack dolls and random fabric creatures littering the floor.

"I made you." The voice of the girl suddenly piped from beside him.

Sasuke tore his squinted gaze away from its position over his work.

The kunoichi's short hair, which was tied back in a pony-tail, bounced while she bent over and he watched the stray tendrils of baby pink slip along her cheek before focusing on what she was digging up from the pile.

"Horaaa…" Sakura declared with crinkling eyes as she eagerly held a doll out to him.

One with black yarn for hair and a ghastly-white face larger than half its body.

He could barely see hands and feet.

Only four nubs sticking out on all sides. In fact, one ballooning limb was so out of proportion, it popped out from the doll's chest.

He stared at it, wordlessly. Refusing to crack even a twitch of a smile.

She'd colored in flat eyes and a mouth using black ink with a horse-mane Chinese brush.

"Tch." Sasuke snorted between his teeth, giving the pitiful creature one last glance before decidedly returning to his own work.

"So… show me yours." Sakura pointedly said with a wide, unsuppressed grin and an accented nod at the lump nestled between his palms.

"No." He shot back, before his thick eyelashes lowered.

"Doing this is stupid enough already."

The girl barely caught the mumble between the flat parting of mouth.

"… Come on, Sasuke-kun…" The pink-haired kunoichi crooned, unfazed by his distaste for the activity, or the grim treatment.

Still he ignored her, pushing the needle out from his work, as she'd taught him to do, raising the thin tip and severing the thread from between his teeth - just as he would with gauze wrapping.

And in that moment, between tying a knot and sealing the patchwork, the random conclusion struck him:

Yes, it was like a drug.

- Being with Sakura, and doing ridiculous things he would never think of telling anyone an Uchiha boy did.

A drug he was starting to rely on.

A release he craved every night.

_What would Naruto think?_

His face invisibly contorted itself into a sour expression - though on the outside he remained skillfully apathetic.

And that was when Sakura surprisingly decided to tackle him down to the ground, crushing the thoughts, along with his left arm into the wooden floor under his ribs.

"Sakura!" The startled rookie choked out just as she threw one lean leg over his torso.

"I want to see!" The girl almost triumphantly declared her purpose for the abrupt assault, before reaching between the gaps of his waist and the floor to grope for the doll he had been working on.

Apparently, even members of an elite clan possessing impressive talents for ninjutsu and taijutsu forgot they were ever endowed with such skill.

Sasuke lay pinned on his side, frozen between her legs, all moves of parry escaping him until he felt her tug at the cotton-stuffed figure wedged between his hip and the wooden boards.

He grunted, snatched the doll back and finally remembered a defensive move.

He flipped over on his stomach and crushed his work under him.

Yes, a wonderful defensive move.

Sakura suddenly ruptured into a laughing fit on top of him. And with that, the boy felt his face redden.

He pulled down one eye and scowled as Sakura shifted, refusing more with stubborn will than anything else that ever concerned revealing the doll.

The weight pressed even more over his body, most perceptibly on his lower back - where she was conveniently seated.

Soon, however, it had abusively ruled over most of his spine as she continued to lean further into him.

Sasuke almost jerked lower into the floor when what he noted was her chest pushed into the hollow between his shoulder blades.

The mood and atmosphere shifted almost immediately.

Turning from playful to something deeper…

He decidedly remained quiet, listening to the subsiding giggle that dwindled off into a sigh. The silence that came was replaced with small expelled breaths…

The tick of the clock on the shelf to the left…

And finally, her voice as it pressed to his ear with a hum.

"…Sasuke-kun." He felt the vibration from her, against his shoulder.

And then she said nothing else.

The boy realized that Sakura just wanted to speak it for lack of any other tender word, would only coat his name repetitively with as much gentle affection as she could before opting to release it into the air…

Wishing with more heart than anything that he would catch it - The way she sincerely felt.

She didn't need to tell Sasuke anything else.

His breath puffed into the floor under him, hot precipitated air that would have moistened the wood with time. And then he felt her face wander closer.

His heartbeat ascended.

Fingers traipsed over his jaw to cup under his chin.

Sideways, he turned, gaze meeting quietly with her green eyes - different hues of moss resulting from the shadows between them. He looked back from behind uneven dark locks.

His hips were digging into the floor, though he was aware of nothing else but her body riding along his spine.

Sakura's lip touched his cheek. And at the simple contact, his stomach coiled tighter than it ever did.

Perhaps it was in the odd way his body was positioned, one hand pinned underneath, the other wedged between her left knee and his ribs.

Maybe it was something else.

She bent further down…

He slowly angled higher…

Their mouths brushed together as a pair of odd slants.

It felt new and awkward, like a first kiss, all over again.

But Sasuke clung to the moment.

Even if she had him held to the ground, metaphorically helpless.

Even if it was against his nature, that a woman should force him to sew kewpies, dominate him and call forth events of surprise to assault him.

He held on to it.

Sakura's hand was moving past his shoulder and down his side, but Sasuke didn't care.

It was slipping between the floor and his waist, but all forms of protest had already escaped.

Her hand came over the doll and Sasuke found himself releasing it for her…

But those fingers dragged past it, brushed along garment, found a fault and dipped into skin.

"Sakura…" came his breathless response.

She pressed dearly into his soft locks.

"… I forget sometimes…" her soft voice flowed into the space between them, partially apologetic.

"I forget how you feel… and I want to be reminded."

In the limited space, she brushed the warm skin of his stomach. And the boy's spine bent like a beam, briefly reminding Sakura of the sinewy motion only cats could be gifted with.

He could have thrown her off. After all, he was lifting her weight effortlessly as he moved.

But he didn't.

Instead, his voice came out, strangled from the press of the floor against his cheek, perhaps dulled even more by the restraint.

"Don't… allow yourself to forget."

It cracked.

She waited for him to say something else. Shove her off and repay her by pinning her down just as she did him. Fulfill his natural urge to complement each of her moves with a significant one of his own.

To tell her he wanted to be reminded just as much.

To touch her.

But the only other sound that left him was a breath.

The only other move was one that stilled his body back into the floor.

And then, the raven-haired boy was once again silent and motionless.

…

_Sakura… _

_Don't forget me._

…

"Sasuke-kun…? What are you thinking?" She softly asked.

Under her, Sasuke closed his eyes and forced the thoughts away with an even breath.

"… Nothing." He finally answered after a moment's pause.

She didn't ask anything else, didn't insist or prod.

He felt her shift - hands kneading into his shoulder blades, knuckles curling into the trench of his back in distended swirls of pattern.

Soundlessly, Sakura lowered and pressed a final kiss into the opening of his black shirt collar, over the tattered mark.

And then the warmth was leaving him.

The comforting weight of her, sliding off.

Underneath, the doll he had been making, with pink yarn for hair, lay disregarded.

* * *

The nights passed much too quickly for his liking.

Sometimes Sasuke was present for dinner, and other times, he only showed up when Sakura was already lying in bed at night, painfully awake.

Three days into the second week, he arrived at his latest.

Two o' clock in the morning.

He jumped in from the balcony – his private main entrance – before soundlessly hitting the floor and automatically eyeing the bed.

Her moist eyes hidden behind a clenched hand and strewn hair looked out at him wordlessly.

"Good. You're awake." He said.

Her eyebrows snapped together and she pushed up from the bed. "Sasuke-kun, of course I'm awake… Because you didn't-… I thought…" Her voice opted not to finish, and instead one hand came up to comb at her hair, brushing the strands away from her pale skin.

And that was when he noticed.

The tear-tracks and the pinched complexion, the distress and the upset look she was haughtily trying to give him.

His own distress squeezed back.

She couldn't keep depending on him.

Sakura shouldn't always be waiting for him.

It made him angry.

He allowed himself the opportunity to drop his bag before he fixed her with a hard glower.

"Don't cry just because I'm not here." ,came the firm snap.

The girl was silent as her eyes lowered, and he watched her push one palm close to her lip.

"I'm sorry." Sakura apologized a moment later from between the press of her thumb and forefinger.

Her green eyes lifted, and he saw just a bit of hurt flash across her quaint features.

"…Did you forget?"

He stepped further into the room, before stopping just a meter away from where she was lying.

"I did. I forgot." He simply said.

His straightforwardness stung and Sakura forced the miserable lump down from her throat with a swallow.

She was about to silently nod when something heavy bounced into the sheets between her legs.

"… I forgot... to take them out…" The boy deliberately explained. "So the first batch burned and I had to make a second one."

Her face jerked up at the package before she directed her wide gaze at him.

"Cookies." Sakura murmured, almost hopefully.

"Almond." He finished.

It was the sugar-high.

They didn't fall asleep until 4:30 that morning, when the sky was an undecided shade between purple pumice and murky river-blue. Sakura tiredly glanced over at the boy beside her who had his face partially hidden under a curtain of black hair. One hand stubbornly rested atop the plastic bag of unfinished cookies as if he prided himself on how delicious they'd turned out.

His eyes were closed with those dark eyelashes Sakura sometimes envied, pressed to his cheeks.

His breath fell even against her side.

Carefully trying not to wake him, Sakura slowly turned around until she felt his shoulders cave over her like an invisible embrace. The girl touched her nose to his chest, burying just so the underside of his chin clasped the top of her head. He stirred for less than a moment with a deeper breath before sinking back into what she wished was a peaceful dream. And then Sakura grew still feeling the pulse against his skin, breathing in his smell – fresh grass mingling with her lemon soap - timing the rise and fall of her chest with his.

Not soon after, her own eyes lowered to the soft, hesitant chirps of birds nesting at the pipes lining her roof.

And the kunoichi finally drifted off, enjoying the lull of peace only he had ever been able to provide.

It was the first and last time Sasuke would fall asleep before Sakura did.

* * *

He never did tell her how much he wanted her.

How much he thought in chosen moments of comfortable silence between them, that he felt something in him wishing to reach out to her.

It was almost as if there was a certain exchange that was left neglected… Something inside him that Sasuke couldn't accurately force down and confront.

Perhaps, something he consciously wished not to crave, but something he subconsciously desired.

It was ironically just when the dreaded last night slipped over the fire country that he finally realized what it was.

That night, the stars hid behind heavy, rolling clouds against the black dome of sky.

Sasuke had been looking into his apartment, with the ever-present trepidation settling over him.

The backpack waited grimly on top of his bed from the shadows.

He seldom took out that backpack.

It was big even for the longer missions that spanned to a week and a half.

But now, his backpack nodded with weight, slumped with desolation from the amount of things he'd forced inside it.

One side-pocket folded in like a mouth, half-opened as if beige lips thought to complain but found nothing significant to say.

In a few hours, just before the break of dawn, he would pamper that bag with a privilege of carrying it over his back on a very long journey.

Where?

Sasuke didn't really know where.

All he had to guide him was the grating whisper that spoke when he was alone in the dark.

When his problems were looming overhead and blocking out his personal sun.

With every night he had spent with her…

It got more and more difficult.

Just the thought of severing the ties…

Leaving…

The cut bled more, became increasingly painful, grew deeper each time he tested it.

But even being buried in pain wasn't such a harsh experience, if pleasure cushioned it ever so carefully.

_And that's what she is. _Sasuke thought.

_My pleasure._

But even more than that, he realized, she was already half of him.

- Completed him, as the cliché went.

He stuffed the extra clothes into his holster, gave the room one last glance and then closed the door.

Sasuke was halfway to Sakura's house when the skies decidedly cast a look upon him and began to weep for his future.

It rained.

The boy didn't bother looking up. His eyes were directed onto the street watching the large droplets bleed into the yellowed road. He listened to the pitter of the rain until the sounds began to tap rapidly, finally merging, with time, into a steady thrum.

A sheet of white fell over his eyes as the rainfall became a shower.

Slowly, his feet stopped walking, and he finally turned his face up to the skies.

It was a long time that Sasuke stood there – partially hoping that the next day wouldn't come…

Wishing darkness wouldn't lift…

That his world would notice he had stopped moving,

And begin to stop too…

--

Sakura had just taken in the laundry from outside, barely escaping the rain.

She ran indoors as a biting breeze chased over her neck and she shivered, quickly nudging the glass door to the backyard shut with one free elbow.

It was hours after dinner, and close to the time Sasuke always made his appearance.

10:36pm.

Her eyes momentarily hovered over the clock near the kitchen, before looking down at the lump of towels in her arms.

_Sasuke-kun might have gotten caught in the rain._

The thought invited more keenness than sympathy. And she smiled to herself, knowing she would greet him prepared. The girl extracted a blue-and-white stripped candidate from the laundry collection before setting it gloriously down over the hallway table.

The rest of the towels and clothes, she piled over the step hovering near her head.

With thoughts of orange juice in mind, she turned to pad off into the kitchen for a glass of it…

- Until a shadow swept across the wall above her head.

Sakura's green eyes immediately flew to the door and the small vertical glass pane framing its side.

A glimpse of blue, she recognized quite joyously to be his and her hand was already on the knob, twisting it.

Before Sasuke even had a chance to raise his head, the door slipped open and a hand had curled around his damp wrist, tugging him inside.

It was instantaneous.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes met hers and the weight of everything to come pressed over him. Dampness slipped down the thinned strands of hair connecting to pale cheeks, trickled sideways down the curve of his nose and fell off his chin. His clothes weighed with water and pulled down over his lean form. Sasuke started to soak the floorboards.

He didn't care.

Something else dominated him, and it brushed everything else, including ethics aside.

"I am prepared." The girl giggled in declaration.

His sorrow.

Sasuke felt the invisible burden coil around his neck. And yet he remained quiet, watching Sakura as she plucked a single towel up, shook it open and pressed it to his head.

His eyes took her in as she laughed and ruffled the soft cloth into his hair.

Would he ever have the chance to see this again?

"Sasuke-kun,…" She lightly crooned, squeezing her eyes into beams of teasing flirtation.

"You look so cute when you're wet."

Would he ever hear that tone again?

His mouth straightened out into a thin line.

And Sakura jokingly stuck her lip out to match his silent contemplation.

The young Uchiha finally snapped.

Without warning, his face slipped away from the towel between her hands and the boy's palms pressed into her shoulders as he pushed her to the wall just beside their heads.

"Sasuk-" Her breathless inquiry was erratically cut off when he silenced her with his insistent mouth.

And it was different, Sakura knew.

This kind of kiss, which didn't hold even a bit of gentleness. He moved over her mouth, ruled it with hitching breath and desperation, forced her to open for him, before he reached in with his tongue and deeply stroked her until she needed air.

Finally he allowed her a breath, when his mouth tore away and he clutched at her arms, roughly pulling her body to him and soaking the front of her clothes.

Her voice squeezed out from the surprising momentum and the cold wetness, and she gasped against his ear as he firmly held her.

"What's wrong??" Her panic was apparent.

"… Nothing-" He desperately breathed out.

Wishing to convince even himself.

_Nothing was wrong._

So why did it feel like something was?

Like something was missing…?

His arms couldn't hold on tight enough.

The way he kissed her couldn't convey it.

Every touch and glance…

The whispered words, every night, on the verge of sleep…

It wasn't enough.

Why wasn't it enough?

Something between a cry and a groan pressed to his throat and he cradled her - unable to do anything else. There was no other word for it – He felt lost.

In every way the syllable expressed.

And he hated it.

"Sasuke-kun…" her soothing voice eased over him, and it provided solace, even for a while.

"…Sakura." Came the answer, and it sounded every bit broken, scared and helpless.

Wedged between the crook of his shoulder and soft, damp locks, Sakura was sensitive enough to catch it.

And just because she'd spent each waking moment knowing him, she somehow read through the thick whisper.

Her nose touched to his jaw and she inhaled the smell of mildew before she slipped her hands to the fabric clinging wet to his hips and clasped his waist.

"Funny…" She softly started, before pulling away and fixing him with a look.

"Funny, how I always know what you want."

She saw through the conflict and Sasuke realized they were on the same page.

Connected far beyond any other two could be.

…

_Connected._

It was a significant thing to be that.

Her fingers gave his damp shirtsleeve a mild tug and he watched the small smile come over her.

"Wash up, Sasuke-kun… before you catch a cold."

And without a shred of hesitation, he followed.

* * *

When he slipped into the sheets that night, it felt different.

Even if he'd gotten used to every spring on her bed, every bumpy corner and frayed edge…

It was different.

Dim white light came in from the window, a breeze swept the smell of rain into the room.

Sasuke vaguely identified it, but his mind took in the embodied moment and remembered.

From the pillow underneath his head, which smelled of Lavender, to the way Sakura's white nightdress draped over her slim curves.

In the darkness, without any verbal exchange, her hands cupped his face and he automatically inched forward.

When their mouths met, it was slow breath intertwining within a deep act of give-and-take.

Lips brushed together, teeth bit carefully, tongues swiped and tangled.

And the air grew hot with movement, a deliberate slow dance conducted best in two.

Her hands pressed into sheets, lifted away from shadows, clutched at thin fabric molding over skin.

A sound came from him, soft enough that even a rustle of limbs could drown it out and his fingers reached underneath her head, clasping at soft pink tendrils before he lifted her to his mouth.

They were in sync somehow.

No matter how different the movements were.

Her tongue touched the seam of his lip, and he parted for her.

Sakura brought a hand to his chest and he responded, splaying his fingers over her jaw.

He slipped over her, she moved under him…

Their hips aligned, brushing ever so slightly.

And then everything seemed inevitable.

"Sakura…" he said her name.

"You told me… do you remember?" Her green eyes pierced into him.

"On a bed, when we have all the time to do it…" Her mouth curled into a smile as she looked up at him.

"I should be scared…" Sakura whispered. Her finger traced over his cheek, the move driving a delicious wedge into Sasuke's stomach.

"But I'm not."

His chest was pressed over her, and he felt the thumps of her heartbeat.

Even and slow, just the way everything had been progressing in those few nights.

… Just as it had always been between them.

And he decided that he did want it – All the time in the world.

But all Sasuke would ever have were the ticking hours before sunrise.

His last moments with her.

The boy's mouth lowered, tracing over cheek and chin before finally settling over the warmth that escaped her lips. And he closed his eyes, thinking that this moment was the only chance for him to give her everything he could.

Everything of him he could leave behind, and everything of her he could take with him.

It would seal them both.

Sakura had been right.

This was what he wanted all along.

The assurance that they would be connected, branded as each others.

Until he returned…

_Wait for me…_

That one thought left him, replaced with the new awareness of the kunoichi's palms as it dipped under his shirt and nudged the material higher.

Sasuke couldn't resist or pull away.

He bent into her arms and gave himself to her.

The girl enjoyed the sinews moving underneath her fingers, the hollows between ribs, the lean coils of his stomach as she grasped his sides.

"I don't want to hurt you." His voice broke into the silence.

But she only shook her head, slipping the shirt over him and past his arms, dropping the material over the rumpled sheets…

"… You're not like him." Sakura slowly whispered, and with the light of the moon, she saw his eyes searching hers, significantly.

Hands cupped over the skin of his arms, folded under to trace the fine brace of collar bone, touched at his chest and pressed with warmth into the place that beat for her…

"…You could never be like him." The girl finished with certainty.

And he remembered the words for all they were worth, until he decidedly reached for her.

The nightgown didn't have a zipper. It wasn't the same as all the other times he had undressed her.

He learned to reach under their bodies instead, clutching the ends of the skirt that went midway past her knee, sliding the material up, watching it glide like silk over her legs, tumble higher as it rolled over her thighs.

She lifted her hips and the sensual motion brought the pump of hot blood, traveling through him, blooming along his cheeks, flooding into his stomach…

His hands slipped lower to caress the planes of skin, knowing even without looking, the familiar crevices that dipped into her.

He heard the whimper even before his fingers had curled over her underwear. And when the full significance of the coming act hit him, Sasuke gratefully lowered into her neck, touching his tongue to her skin, tasting her almost gently.

Because it struck him now, how Sakura would allow him to mark her so selfishly…

Despite the similarity of what ruined her body only weeks ago…

That painful defilement made by blood of his blood, in a malicious intent to take away something Sakura saved only for him.

_Can I…_

_Should I…_

Sasuke's hands lingered, a moment too long, and she moved her head sideways, catching his lip in silence, allowing him the act.

She knew the source of his hesitation.

With the fading release of that kiss, he lowered his gaze and pulled with his hand, peeled the garment from between her legs and gauged her expression. Sakura slid her feet free and guided his hand higher with a nudge of thigh.

He'd wanted it.

Craved it.

And the feeling had been mounting though he refused to acknowledge its presence.

His hands slid between her legs. Sasuke touched her.

And he watched her teeth dig hard into her lower lip with anticipation.

The simple motion contorting her face with the weeks of waiting and wanting… and finally getting.

He loved that look.

The expression mirrored so much of what he felt.

Pleasure and pain, a mixture of both, never getting high enough to hold on completely, but always longing to be swept to that height.

His hands knew her, roving over each bulk and fold, slipping only slightly higher, until she let out a sound which she tried to stop from tumbling past her lips.

Her mouth closed with a sob.

"Don't hold back…" He whispered.

Her hands folded into his hair and the girl drew him closer.

_I want to hear it._

_Don't hold back_

So she didn't.

The bunched hills of blanket got pushed further along the sides of the bed, surrounding their bodies like a venerating wall. And she opened for him unabashedly - Offering every sound, every jerk of her body with an honesty that only spoke of how much they already knew each other.

Her fingers clutched tightly to the sheets, and he shifted enough to balance firmly on one arm, slipping the limb under her head while the other continued to work in repeated motion between them.

She was soft. Everything about her seemed to be.

And filled with wet heat, though he never really took the time to notice.

His fingers never stilled. It had started to summon, and a greatness was building inside her, he knew, pressing just under her stomach, working like invisible pressures over her hips, coiling and twisting, expanding deliciously from the center.

He wouldn't stop. Not when she was showing him so much just being the way she was.

After a moment, she let out a gentle cry, wrenching her head sideways and burying into the crook of his neck.

"Sasuke-kun." She bleated against his skin, eyes shut to the tides taking her.

His hand held her head, pushing her up to meet his mouth in a breathless kiss, and he prolonged it, consuming her soft sounds, the weeping of mounting pleasure…

And just because he wished so much he had more time, Sasuke slowed the strokes of his hand, made the motion deliberate, even and deep. Hooked into the opening of her mouth with his tongue and timed it so the movements below and above merged, and Sakura was left writhing in desperation.

"Mmmm…." She wrung out against him in sweet agony. Her teeth came together in a grimace before she gasped and pulled his neck down…

Pushed her hip up and ground against his hand.

Unknowingly, against his stiffness.

Her tongue had entered his mouth when he gave the moan, feeling the purposeful undulation bury where he needed it.

And in the blind moment, complementing a move with a move, he slowly pushed twin fingers inside her, hearing the mattress creak as Sakura's spine dug back.

"Oh…God…" The girl's breath sharpened with a rise.

And Sasuke had to wonder if there was one.

God…

And if there were, that it spare her the memory, of that katana's hilt.

And how the motion was so much the same.

"Is this…" He started.

"…More." She completed.

He curled his fingers, and she gave a nod.

He stroked, and her eyes half opened, heavy with traces of a fond, and heated smile.

"You know me…" Sakura suddenly said.

"I learned you." He answered.

The moans heightened as he pushed into her, rubbed on the outside and moved from within. Until Sakura's hips were lifting in time and he became absorbed in her frantic dance to reach that height.

The pleasure thrummed into her body, flowed through her veins. And the heat curled and buried, subsided, and rose to a dizzying climax that finally gripped her until Sasuke felt her stiffen in his arms.

Her mouth came open.

"Sa- suke-kun…"

At the very tip and just as she took the dive, it was his name Sakura whimpered.

And it was the only right thing to say.

When she shattered past the peak, the kunoichi finally cried out, closing her eyes as she rose to meet his lips. Her tongue insistently dueled with his in frantic shallow breaths until he felt her pulsing into his hand, gripping him reflexively in waves and waves of climax.

And then Sakura's mouth had gentled with a slight quiver and her body softened, lowering back against the bed as she stilled.

Green eyes, filmed in acceptance and desire, gazed up at him.

And he would remember.

That look.

"I need you."

This time, it was she who said it as she pushed up to shed the rest of her white nightgown.

There was no slow tease.

It was truthfully direct, matched with the sudden rash thumps of both their heartbeats.

She let the dress slip from her fingers and over the side of the bed.

And Sasuke watched her, taking in the beauty found in the curves of her nakedness.

He yearned, hands reaching out to her skin, tracing light over the side of her neck, painting heat over hollows where the shadows bred.

He memorized striking portions of her paleness, dwelling carefully over faded scars that formed over the years, trying to remember every uneven mark that made her unique, from the solitary mole guarding the trench between her breasts, down to a constellation of them heaving over her right rib and stomach.

The boy reached back up, touching the firm mounds of her chest and running the gaps of his fingers through those textured rosy peaks. And then he lowered, swiping with his tongue, needing to taste her skin, to be reminded of what he would be missing.

Her response, after a shallow hitch of breath, was undoing the string of his pants and slipping the cotton fabric from his hips. Fingers molded with pressure over bone, sliding lower over pelvis and dipping under garment towards his back to cup the flexing muscles of his rear.

It was an intimate place that missed her pampering touch.

Over the surface of her heated skin, Sasuke released a muffled grunt feeling more compelled now than ever to aid her.

He pulled away, shed his clothing pair by pair with a look in his eyes that graduated from shame or embarrassment, eyes that shook with the sheer force of wanting her to see his entirety.

And the atmosphere grew heavier with desire and anticipation, for Sakura. Desperation and longing for Sasuke, because the minutes went by and time would never stop for him.

He would give, and give more. And bury so deep that she would never lose him.

_I'm yours._

He'd always thought it to be a petty statement. But now, its full significance stood before him.

He couldn't phrase it any better.

And Sakura…?

His onyx eyes looked out intensely at her from the shadows, and she gave him an open, tender smile.

_Sakura is mine._

His boxers dropped somewhere over the foot of the bed, perhaps lost under the covers diving to the floor, but Sasuke didn't think to care.

His hands spread out over the sheets before he inched closer to her.

And Sakura watched the muscles under pale skin, gliding with the shadows over his arms and shoulders, lean legs wrapped in ribbons of light that broke off just where his firm belly met his hips.

She waited until Sasuke silently joined her again, his naked warmth slipping above her, his lips brushing over the bridge of her nose and over her lowered eyelashes in a new kind of affection.

She traced her hands over his sides and he lowered himself carefully, pressing inch by inch of his skin over hers as if trying to match her dips and curves with his own.

A puzzle, he wished would fit in all the right places to leave no gaps.

And Sasuke felt just how different it was now, from every other time it had happened.

Her feet slid tenderly over his calves, as she shifted.

His member burned with delicious contact against her lower stomach…

Sasuke's breath faltered as the peaks of her breasts brushed against him.

And gravity took it upon herself to push skin and skin with weight, together, making everything all the more intimate and real…

It was in how much of their bodies were joined and tangled…

And how much Sasuke wished it would always remain that way…

The thought brought out the sorrow in his obsidian eyes, and the boy dulled, wrapping his arms under her and pressing his cheek to hers.

"… Mine." Sasuke firmly whispered into small space between them.

But his voice broke towards the end, and he found himself crushing her body to him.

Sakura seemed to sense his loneliness, and the girl shifted under his arms.

"What is it?" She softly asked as one hand reached up to cup the side of his face.

_Sasuke-kun… _

_Will I ever know?_

But his eyes only rose from the sheets in a renewed gaze of solidity.

"… Do you trust me, Sakura?" The boy rigidly asked.

_Do you trust me, regardless of how heartless I might seem to you?_

The girl seemed to hesitate, contemplating the hardened look on his face

"…I trust you." She finally answered, before her fine eyebrows stitched together in worry.

"…Sasuke-kun…"

That voice. The way she said the honorific and how it had so long ago annoyed the hell out of him.

Now, he found, he wouldn't quite be the same without hearing it.

He had a feeling… it would be a long time before he could hear it again.

_Hn…_

Sasuke's eyes softened, already with a tinge of melancholy.

_Looks like I will miss you… usuratonkachi… _

Sakura wasn't telepathic. And she would never know the boy's thoughts accurately.

Nobody ever would.

But she knew just how much he needed her.

And even if he wasn't always the sweetest, or the most civil…

Even if he wordlessly knocked her into a wall to get the kiss he wanted…

Or shoved her the festival prize instead of giving it…

Even if he called her an idiot, a blockhead…

And scolded her for her stupidity while she was on the brink of death…

Even if Sasuke had refused many times to answer back to an "I love you"…

And even if he had failed her…

Failed in the most crucial test to defend her as his older brother mercilessly raped and took…

Sakura loved him.

And she was certain that it wouldn't change.

When Sasuke positioned himself on top of her, she didn't feel fear.

She didn't doubt him.

He started to form careful seals, most of the symbols she hadn't recognized at all, and she watched him carefully with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

"How did you learn it? Those one-hand seals…."

"Kakashi." The boy answered.

Her eyebrows rose and she blinked at him. "… What for?"

"To be safe…" He looked at her as he locked the last seal.

"It's… protection." Sasuke finally disclosed.

She couldn't help cracking a small, wry smile.

Perhaps, because it was a first for them both…

Every second seemed to sharpen and layers and layers of intimacy wrapped around them, drawing them closer together until both of them could hear the exchange of breaths, feel the other's rising heartbeat, read the expressions of nervousness and anticipation, look beyond it to see the certainty…

There was no question from him- 'Are you ready?'

He didn't give her the warning - 'This will hurt.'

Maybe it was because Sasuke already knew she had been through much worse.

His obsidian eyes only bore into her as she carefully clutched at his upper back.

And then he commanded her with a word.

Only one.

"… Breathe."

"-… Of course." She answered solemnly, trying not to laugh.

And then the humor faded into silence.

The boy lowered, peered between them, adjusted, and Sakura could feel his intimate member, hard and ready from the earlier tease, push significantly at her.

Its velvet heat brushed along the sensitive folds of her opening, and the girl almost made a sound at only that. But Sasuke's length continued to burrow, bathing itself in her moist, waiting warmth, until the boy's eyes finally rose back to her face, because he had found her soft entrance.

He lifted only so slightly that Sakura almost didn't notice it.

And then Sasuke pushed, breaking into her for the first time.

He heard her draw her breath the same time he expelled his.

And was it anything like he'd ever felt?

_No… _His mind vaguely said. _There's nothing like it._

The soft, pressured grasp, the surprising heat, the tightness…

His eyebrows came together.

Because Sakura seemed to be struggling, hips undecidedly angling to occupy him.

Could she take him further?

"…Sa…kura…" His voice came out scratched, as if he were straining.

"It's… okay-" Her eyes lifted as she firmly assured him.

She knew his hesitation, and she wouldn't let him worry.

He continued.

Her insides gave way to him as he lowered more.

And then Sasuke decidedly pressed forward with a locking hook, whole and firm, filling her until the twin peaks of their hips clasped.

Her arms reached up, winding over his back.

His elbows anchored to balance evenly along her sides.

And when Sakura pulled him down and their mouths connected in a slow kiss that complemented the feeling of being grasped firm, and being filled tight… Everything was complete.

Sasuke felt complete.

_Joined._

_And this is what it was..._

Their mouths pressed and explored, somehow more careful in venture now than ever.

A moment passed before Sasuke pulled away and his eyes watched the girl below him - one iris cradled in gray from the slanted light coming through the window, and the other bathed in black from the darkness of the room.

_This is… what's been missing._

She inclined her head and touched her nose to his.

He blinked and slowly lowered his eyes.

"You think too much…"

Sasuke heard her quietly say.

- And as if to finalize the statement, his body flooded with the sudden need for more, silently telling him that it was only right to move.

Was the act supposed to have been hard?

It shouldn't be.

Sasuke was an Uchiha.

His body was a vessel endowed with the natural grace and coordination to achieve any physical act flawlessly…

Yet, the class rookie faltered now with even the simplest things.

Forward…

Back….

Even those came clumsy and awkward.

With unease he shifted, drawing in halfway, pushing out with hesitation, entering from an incline, or scooping out from under, experimenting and then failing to create something smooth and natural.

It was like a dance he thought could have been learned in observation.

Only, as the time came that it was his turn to perform, he found he lacked the experience of rhythm to move gracefully over the floor.

Amidst his demise, Sakura caught him, held him, guided him, even if the sensations were just as new to her.

And soon he'd eased into the motions of burying and withdrawing, sweeping in and digging up…

Not slow enough that it grated, not fast enough that it felt rushed…

But in completion every time, and steady enough so every second counted - meaningful enough that both of them could learn to savor it.

Could he have done it any better? No doubt.

But would he have changed the way it happened?

Sasuke didn't think so.

Its flaws as well as highlights would wrap up the best kind of experience.

The bed warmed, everything around them grew heavy.

Inside her, it was hot.

Sasuke had buried himself deep enough to feel core temperature, and it burned him in a way that made his eyes close, that brought crimson under his cheeks and pried his love-bitten mouth open with a moan.

He bowed into her side and clutched her face to him.

"Sakura…" He couldn't help dragging out from between unnoticed fallen strands.

With an even thrust, he brushed a part in her that sheathed him, and it seemed to equally do something in her.

The girl made a sound. Her legs rose off the sheets involuntarily, and she clung to him wrapping her ankles around his back. It took him even deeper.

"Sasuke… kun..." came the gasped response.

To Sasuke, it wasn't just his name. It was a texture of sound, coated in fluctuations of need. It was endearment and love…

Pleasure.

Something coiled in him and his hands clutched the sheets, startled, because Sasuke found that he could feel just as much of her as he could himself.

Somewhere inside, and between them, she'd squeezed back.

"… Again… do it." He heard her breathlessly say.

And he did. After which they both released a sound, a shallow breath, felt the lick of delicious heat together.

And in that moment, he knew it.

He could never get closer. It would never be more than this.

They moved and burned together.

He raised his face to her, and her partially-lowered eyes held his steadily.

Moving past the wrinkled sheets, his hand found hers and clung tight.

_It won't be this way again… for a while._

_Sakura…_

_Don't forget how this feels._

_Don't forget me…_

It could be weeks, months… possibly, years. Would she wait?

… _Wait…_

_Don't let me go._

Her fingers squeezed over his…

Perhaps only from the building pleasure.

But it meant so much more to him, and he racked with sudden longing, with fear that she wouldn't be waiting when he returned.

Something wrenched the breath from him and Sasuke chased it with a low sound, shutting his eyes, wanting to forget even for a moment, wanting nothing but to lose himself in her.

With every drive into her body, he left more of himself there, buried.

With every whispered breath, came the silent chant.

_Wait for me._

_Wait._

Why…

_Because I can't be…_

_Without you…_

_I can't be complete._

Something else pushed up inside him, and because it already had once before, he recognized it well.

Perhaps if he told her this time…

If she knew it…

Those three significant words that had been taken from him…

_She would wait._

They weren't dancing at an even pace anymore.

With every thought, Sasuke grew desperate.

Grew selfish, and branded her hard and deep.

But she wanted it, despite the pain.

Sakura rode the intensity and felt the prickles shoot up her spine.

Far from anything she'd ever experienced with him.

He filled her completely. Left her only for a moment, before he joined her again.

Even through the mindlessness, their hands remained linked, fingers clasped, refusing to part.

The seconds slowed, and Sasuke was almost thankful.

He felt the familiar wedge of his stomach, the brush of sudden ecstasy that almost took him.

The boy buried into her, grinding with low sound, and Sakura whimpered louder into his ear, arching back at the pleasurable brush. He withdrew, pressed again, and felt the coils wind tighter. His lungs filled with thin air. And everything began to build - the movement and the swell, taking him up, higher.

Taking her.

His eyes fell over the planes of her face, lids falling lower, narrowing with pleasure.

The Sharingan's crimson hue, flagged with heavy eyelashes, penetrated Sakura just as surely as his body claimed her. And her own eyes only made his conquer whole - twin dark seas that watched him, surrounded him and carried him.

"Together…" The boy panted out the desperate whisper.

Sasuke's other hand lowered between them, and he helped her.

Finding the sensitive spot just outside that needed more stimulation, calling the pleasure, faster and harder.

Her body surged into his touch, flowing with a promise that he could satisfy her.

The last night would be this way.

They would end it together.

His mouth bit at her lip, her tongue lapped at his.

Sasuke gripped her fingers so tightly, it hurt.

But beyond the ascent towards a torrential climax, the writhing kunoichi barely noticed anything else.

_We burn together._

Sakura's hips jerked into him, and from between clenched teeth she dragged out a hum that turned into a pleasured moan.

He pressed down in response with his body, absorbing all the thrums she provided.

Giving himself, and giving in generosity - slowing the cant of his hips to a painful pace, to delay himself fulfillment. His eyes shut in difficulty, teeth gritting hard in an attempt to not senselessly drive into her…

And he waited.

He would… Always.

It didn't matter to Sasuke anymore – now or ten years later.

Impatience wasn't harsh enough to overtake this kind of will.

He would wait.

…Would she?

They stepped higher, where time was eventually lost along with any kind of solid ground.

Sasuke's strokes hastened on the outside, while his thrusts equally slowed within.

It was difficult, and agonizing in such a torturous way.

Her entrance swelled around him, grew hot with more of ministration…

And that great bittersweet-cacophony gathered through his middle, no matter how much he tried to sway from it. Until the boy finally thought that he wouldn't be able to hold off much longer.

"Tell me…" Came the tremors of his hitching voice. "Tell me when…"

And just as the last word died in breathlessness, the girl under him momentously tipped, gripping him from inside, tighter and tighter until crimson eyes opened heavily to watch her in desperate bliss.

His breath stopped, her world faded out, every broken thought, disappeared.

"Now." Sasuke caught the girl's soft distended whimper.

Her hand lowered desperately to his hip, pulled it up into her.

And with that, he followed blindly, forging in, pulling farther out, each move more purposeful than the last, until the girl's cry was thinned with erratic breaths, until her insides gripped him more firmly than it had and her sobs tumbled over his lips.

"Sa…ku… -ra…" The boy ripped the syllables apart, with a hoarse constricted breath.

He felt her grip his hand in reply.

It only took a thrust, two… three…

And then Sasuke's head swung down and he buckled, shuddering with a hard groan in pulsing release.

His hips slid forward, meeting solid with the girl's own desperate thrusts.

Move matched with move as they experienced the shattering pleasure together.

And in between the breaths she took, she should have heard the words.

Because when Sasuke had finally poured all of himself into her, he pressed his mouth to her ear as he said it.

"… I love… you."

And the words sounded like a humble admission…

A fragile discovery…

A desperate reminder…

- All at once.

Sakura did hear it, in all its torn breathlessness.

And as their bodies softened into the bed, the girl wholeheartedly said it back.

Sasuke's arms tightened around the kunoichi - as if he wished to encase all of her inside him.

His mouth buried into her damp forehead and he became stiller and more morosely silent than Sakura had ever seen or felt.

The air weighed down significantly, and a strange kind of emotion the kunoichi couldn't recognize came.

Folding itself around her heart over and over till the muscle throbbed from all the magnitude of feeling.

It squeezed at her throat and prickled like fine needles…

Dropped itself with the weight of a warm, furry animal circling over and over into her stomach till it settled at the bottom,…

It was different.

But it was also too vague to call it that.

It flooded and brimmed until her chest had no space to accommodate it.

… Until Sakura felt she would break.

And she didn't know why it suddenly happened…

But tremors choked at her throat,

The sides of her eyes grew hot, and then her vision began to blur.

Sasuke felt her stir.

Hands drew him down securely, a face buried into his shoulder.

And then, very quietly, the girl under his arms started to cry.

Sasuke's eyes closed, and he pressed his forehead into the pillow.

Breath stilling into the still-warm linen as he listened to her sob.

For the first time, he didn't tell her to stop.

Did she feel his pain?

Did her heart somehow know?

Something inside him thought Sakura did, even if the girl hadn't yet realized.

_Connected._

The word echoed in his mind.

And when Sasuke felt a new kind of wetness, warm and unfamiliar to him, squeeze past his closed eyes, and trickle down his own cheeks, he knew.

In every way, they were.

* * *

Dawn had very nearly come when he finally decided…

It was time to leave her.

In truth, it hadn't been long afterwards, that exhaustion came over Sakura and she fell asleep.

His own body was tired, but he remained awake, looking over the top of her head, listening to her take ample breaths.

After a minute, he wouldn't allow himself the luxury anymore…

After two, he carefully extracted his arm and pushed away…

As another hour passed, Sasuke started to sever the strings of attachment that would prevent him from being able to leave the room. Learning to mentally compress every memory, pack it into a box and keep it in storage, separated and far from the dictations of what had to be.

After making sure, one last time, that Sakura was indeed fast asleep, he looked away and never gave a second glance back.

And when he left the sheets, and relocated his clothes, Sasuke took a breath and began the new page in his life, mentally preparing himself for the things to come.

He would slip past the North gate, just after the jounin guards' shifts ended, and just before a second batch replaced the last.

Not many people knew it…

But at chosen hours of the day, there came a 120-second interval during which at least one gate of Konoha was left unguarded as the exchange in shifts took place.

In the past two weeks, he had kept himself busy and efficient - just as was his nature.

It was filed and organized in his mind… from how he would escape undetected and unquestioned,

How long before he would have to change route and clear his trail.

The chosen inns along the way, he could room in without attracting suspicion.

Most of the places he would be visiting were gambling villages, and criminal hide-outs.

And it would be dangerous, no doubt.

But his journey wouldn't be fruitless.

Sasuke wondered just how far he would have to go…

Until he found him…

He, who seemed to hold such overwhelming power…

_Orochimaru._

His hand pressed numbly into his left shoulder.

And his heart chose that moment to rear up in rebellion.

But Sasuke had an astounding amount of discipline.

He shoved it violently back into the depths of his body and locked it there - with a firm swallow.

Large obsidian eyes shifted, casting a look out the window, and the young Uchiha stood there, in the middle of her room, feeling the floorboards solid underneath his feet, watching the midnight blue and plum purple hues cloaking the lower skies on the horizon.

Soon, Sasuke's face settled into its magnanimous expression of indifference.

His mouth pressed out in its usual flat line.

And the life in his eyes dimmed as a gloss of somberness replaced it.

His leg took one step out into the balcony.

A step further away from her.

_Avenger?_

Perhaps the title he had for himself would never really change.

And there would always be an underlying negativity coating it.

But he had to consider…

His face turned sideways, and it took every ounce of will not to look back one last time…

He had to consider…

Exactly who he was doing it for…

What he was really fighting against…

And if he had faith…

Sasuke raised the yellow paper he was holding in his hand and scanned the few lines he had written on it.

Simply it told her:

_You said you trusted me,_

_So trust my decision._

_And wait._

At the bottom he had signed it with his whole name, just to make it seem even more serious than it already was.

- Because those weren't casual statements.

With a slow breath, Sasuke reached out sideways, taping the paper evenly over the glass window where Sakura would surely catch it, shadowed against the eastern glare of the morning sun, much later.

And then he had stepped up the railing and soundlessly pushed off the balcony, disappearing from view.

- Disappearing into darkness and coming light.

When the Konoha sun finally rose a few hours later, it cast a glow, just as always, on everything it touched.

It sewed shadows to corners and edges. And the yellowish rays burned more intensely as the morning grew long, and the shadows began to inch, following the ascent of the sun across a clear white sky.

It set a certain kunoichi's hair a shade only a bit lighter than the pink on carnations as she wandered through the throngs of villagers on her street.

In one hand, she clutched a small square paper.

And squeezed tightly in the other, a navy-blue forehead protector that had been left behind.

Surely in the coming days she would shed many more tears.

Because as she reached his apartment that morning and found it strangely unlocked, as she stepped inside and found it empty and lacking his warmth, she already knew. Somehow.

Sasuke was gone.

She didn't have to ask why he left.

Sakura knew both the simple and complicated answers to that.

She didn't have to question how much she was worth to him either.

Because he had shown her just how much, in every way he knew how.

She would miss him.

But because of everything, she would wait.

She knew they both would.

The sun continued to shine down over his head.

And later, the moon would adorn him with pale glow.

But for a long time it would be elsewhere.

Because the boy had long left Konoha.

In fact, he was already far away.

* * *

-WEEKS BEFORE HE LEFT-

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Had to go out with a bang, --- so there was a lemon thrown in there. Nyahaha!! (couldn't help me-self)**

**This chapter is dedicated to my fellow fan-fic writer Aly because she's my first reviewer for Chapter 1… (and hopefully my first reviewer for this last one)!!!**

**YAY!!! (awwww)**

**We're done! (o . o)"**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this far... **

**I enjoyed writing. And I can't believe its finally finished… after so so very long. **

**I don't think I'm going to do an epilogue. **

**I wanna just leave it the way it is. **

**But I wanna thank everyone who ever read this, especially everyone who followed it to the bitter end. Lol. **

**Got any last words to say? SAY!**


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